Hollywood star Gene Hackman has died aged 95 after being found dead with his wife Betsy, 63, and their dog in their reclusive Santa Fe home on the Old Sunset Trail
Hollywood star Gene Hackman dies aged 95
Academy Award winner Gene Hackman has been found dead at the age of 95 with his wife Betsy, 63, and their dog in their Santa Fe home.
The Hollywood legend, who is best known for his Oscar-winning roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven, was confirmed to have died at his New Mexico home by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
“On February 26, 2025 at approximately 1:45 p.m., 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,” they said in a statement.
“Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time however exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.”
Read updates on the tragic death of Gene Hackman and wife Besty Arakwa in the Mirror’s live blog HERE.
Gene had previously opened up about his scenic Santa Fe home in an interview with Architectural Digest back in 1990, having remodelled his house on twelve acres of hilltop land with a 360-degree view.
The 1950s block building was renovated for Gene and his wife Betsy into a “part pueblo, part colonial New Mexico, part Spanish Baroque” property.
“It had a kind of magic in it,” Gene said in the interview. “It’s totally different from my other houses. The Montecito house was very formal.”
Gene had lived in a number of impressive properties throughout his life, including a home in Montecito located on 25 acres of land. “We spent a year and a half on it and it gives me a great deal of pleasure,” he told Architectural Digest in 1982 of the home he shared with ex-wife Faye Maltese. “Continuing pleasure, you might say, because we are always working on it.”
Over the course of his six decade career, Gene took home two Oscars, two BAFTAs and four Golden Globe Awards for his roles in highly-acclaimed films The French Connection and Unforgiven.
Speaking to GQ in 2011, Gene shared that he doesn’t keep many of his awards around the house. He told the publication: “There isn’t any movie stuff except a poster downstairs next to the pool table of Errol Flynn from Dawn Patrol . I’m not a sentimental guy.”
Gene was last seen in March 2024 with his wife Betty in Santa Fe, leaving a 7-Eleven in a pair of cargo pants with a coffee in one hand and an apple pie in another. Earlier in the month, he had been spotted on a solo outing near his luxury home as he worked in his garden.
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