Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found deceased in their Santa Fe home earlier this week. The death has been shocking to everyone who loved the actor. There have been tributes pouring in from the world over.
As people remember the actor’s life, they also want to know about his later years, where he mainly withdrew from the public eye. But he did make rare appearances every now and then.
Keep reading to learn more about the last time he was spotted in public.
Gene Hackman was spotted in public for the first time in over twenty years, just a year before his death.
The French Connection actor was 95 years old at the time of his death, while his wife Betsy Arakawa was 63. Alongside them, their dog also passed away in their New Mexico residence on 26 February, 2025.
“We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail,” Santa Fe County said in an official statement made after the actor’s demise.
“This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor,” they shared. Hackman and his wife were spotted in public last year, almost 21 years after his last public sighting.
In the pictures from the sighting, the couple, who had been married since 1991, was seen exiting Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hackman was seen holding on to his wife’s arm with his other hand holding his cane. You can look at some of the pictures shared here, on X.
Hackman met his wife Arakawa in LA where she worked part-time in a fitness center. The two of them began dating in 1984.
Hackman divorced his first wife, Faye Maltese, in 1986. He had married her in 1956. During their marriage, they welcomed three children: Leslie Anne, Elizabeth Jean, and Christopher Allen.
The actor who is known for iconic roles in movies like Mississippi Burning and Behind Enemy Lines, largely retired from acting in 2004 due to health concerns.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York,” the actor shared in a 2009 interview.
“The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress,” the actor had said.
Hackman’s career was an enviable one for any aspiring actor, during his time in Hollywood from 1961 to 2004, he was in 79 feature films. Over the span of his career, he won two Academy Awards, two BAFTAs, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild award.
Famed director Francis Ford Coppola who worked with the actor in his film The Conversation in 1974, gave a fitting tribute to the late legend, saying, “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity. I mourn his loss, and celebrate his existence and contribution.”
The passing of such a great actor is truly heartbreaking. We are sending our condolences to everyone mourning the late legend, Gene Hackman, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
