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Gene Hackman Death Under Investigation After Actor, Wife Found Dead

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After Oscar winner Gene Hackman was found dead in his Santa Fe home alongside wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog, the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office has confirmed an investigation is underway.

By Olivia Evans Feb 27, 2025 1:53 PM

| Updated 45 minutes ago

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Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa and Dog Found Dead in Santa Fe Home

Authorities are looking further into Gene Hackman’s death.

The actor, known for his roles in French Connection, Superman and The Birdcage, was found dead in his Santa Fe, New Mexico home alongside wife Besty Arakawa and their dog, authorities confirmed to NBC News Feb. 26. And while no foul play is suspected, police are still searching for answers.

As the Santa Fe County Sheriff's office said in a statement to NBC News, “Exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation.”

Santa Fe public information officer Denise Womack Avila later shared that authorities were called to the couple’s residence at around 1:45 p.m. on Feb. 26 after a neighbor called requesting a welfare check. The bodies of the former couple were not able to be identified until Feb. 27.

E! News has reached out to authorities for additional information but has not yet heard back.

Gene, 95, and Betsy, 64, married in 1991, and had opted for a more private lifestyle following the Oscar winner’s retirement from acting.

The 95-year-old’s last role was in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, and though he rarely gave interviews in the last years of his life, he admitted that he was unsure of the legacy left behind by one of his most famous roles, A French Connection in a 2021 email interview with the New York Post.

“Haven’t seen the film since the first screening in a dark, tiny viewing room in a post-production company’s facility 50 years ago,” Gene—who left Hollywood to relocate to Santa Fe in the 1980s—told the outlet at the time. “If the film has a legacy, I am not sure what that would be. At the time, it seemed to me to be a reverent story of a cop who was simply able to solve and put a stop to a major crime family’s attempt to infiltrate the New York drug scene."

Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

Still, the actor, who won his first of two Academy Awards for his portrayal of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in the 1971 film, added, “The film certainly helped me in my career, and I am grateful for that.”

Keep reading for a look back on Gene’s life in photos…

(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)

Image/Getty Images

1965

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

1969

Getty Images

1971

Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images

1974

Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images

1976