BREAKING: All the Details Behind Death of Hollywood Icon Gene Hackman After 'Superman' Actor, 95, AND Wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, Are Found Dead in His $4Million Mansion With Their Pet Dog
Hackman was a known dog lover and once adopted a German Shepherd which roamed onto the set of his movie The Replacements in 1999.
Feb. 27 2025, Updated 6:17 a.m. ET
Legendary actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their Santa Fe home, sending shockwaves through Hollywood and sparking mystery over their joint passing.
RadarOnline.com can reveal cops discovered the couple alongside their lifeless dog inside their $3.8million property on Wednesday.
No foul play is expected, but a cause of death is yet to be released – sparking an immediate outpouring of speculation on social media over the circumstances of their deaths.
Hackman pictured in 2000 alongside Monica Bellucci and Morgan Freeman at a photo call for their movie Under Suspicion.
Santa Fe County sheriff Adan Mendoza said: “All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant.”
Cops have not revealed a cause of death but shared extra details about the tragic discovery.
A police statement said: “On February 26 2025 at approximately 1.45pm, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to an address on Old Sunset Trail in Hyde Park where Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and a dog were found deceased.”
Hackman, a two-time Oscar winner with an estimated net worth of $80million, just turned 95 in late January.
He became a recluse in the last 20 years of his life, after retiring from acting in 2004.
He packed up his things, left Los Angeles for a quiet life in New Mexico — and he never looked back.
Hackman was married twice, tying the knot with Faye Maltese in 1956.
The couple had three children – one son and two daughters – and were married for three decades, divorcing in 1986.
Mystery continues to surround Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa's death as cops refuse to confirm cause of passings.
Some initially thought that his shock decision to retire had to do with his marriage to Arakawa, but Hackman quit acting because of the severe stress he was under — which became too much to handle after he started to have issues with his heart.
Speaking in 2009, he said: "The straw that broke the camel's back was actually a stress test that I took in New York.
"The doctor advised me that my heart wasn't in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress."
Hackman was found dead alongside his wife and the couple's pet dog inside their Santa Fe home.
The former Marine appeared in more than 80 films, as well as on television and the stage during his lengthy career that started in the early 1960s.
Tributes have started pouring in for the Hollywood legend with Star Trek star George Takei hailing him as "one of the true giants of the screen" and filmmaker Frances Ford Coppola adding he was "great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity".
Hackman's fans added that they are "devastated" that "one of the all time great actors has sadly left the stage".
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Last year, he and Arakawa were seen out and about for the first time in two decades.
Hackman was spotted holding onto his wife's arm for balance as the pair grabbed a bite at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Before the dinner date, Hackman enjoyed a cup of coffee and some apple pie from a local Speedway store.
The couple's outing marked the first time they were seen together in public for 21 years, with the last time being at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, where he won the Cecil B. deMille award.
