US: Hackman, Wife Found Dead At Their Home

Oscar-winning US actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog have been found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In a career spanning more than six decades, Hackman received two Academy Awards for his work on The French Connection and The Unforgiven.

A statement from the Santa Fe County Sheriff in New Mexico said: “We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail.”

“This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor.”

He won the best actor Oscar for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s 1971 thriller The French Connection, and another for best supporting actor for playing Little Bill Daggett in Clint Eastwood’s Western film Unforgiven in 1992.

His other Oscar-nominated roles were in 1967 movie Bonnie and Clyde – as Buck Barrow, in his breakthrough role – and 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father, as well as playing the agent in Mississippi Burning (1988).

The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s office said: “On 26 February, 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.”

He also starred in the hit movies Runaway Jury and Francis Ford Copalla’s The Conversation, as well as Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums.

As well as his Oscar wins, he also collected two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

His last big screen appearance came as Monroe Cole in Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, after which he stepped back from Hollywood for a quieter life in New Mexico.

Born in California in 1930, Hackman had enlisted in the army after lying about his age at 16, serving for four-and-a-half years.

BBC/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma