<p id=”par-1_76″>Santa Fe investigators are still pouring over the property where Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, were found dead on Feb. 26. The pair were spotted inside the home by maintenance workers who called 911. Still, it remains unclear exactly what happened to the longstanding partners. While few details have been made available, <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gene-hackman-dead-at-95-did-the-famed-actor-have-children.html/”>Hackman’s daughter</a> is speaking out. She insisted her father, who had turned 95 at the end of January, was in good health.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gene-hackman-s-daughter-addresses-his-health-following-his-sudden-death”>Gene Hackman’s daughter addresses his health following his sudden death</h2>
<p id=”par-2_52″>Gene Hackman might be best known for his acting career, but in his later years, he was reclusive. The 95-year-old thespian preferred to spend his time inside <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gene-hackmans-home-everything-we-know-about-the-sprawling-santa-fe-estate.html/”>his Santa Fe home</a> rather than the streets of Los Angeles. Despite his reclusive nature, though, his daughter insists he was not in poor health.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gene-Hackman-kids.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Gene Hackman attends the premiere of ‘Superman’ with his children, Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie” class=”wp-image-3782518″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Gene Hackman and children during Presidential Premiere of ‘Superman’ in | Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-3_48″>In a chat with <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14444699/gene-hackman-daughter-dennys-run-day-body-found.html” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>the Daily Mail</a>, Leslie Ann Hackman said that while her father was at an advanced age, he had no medical ailments that would explain his sudden passing. She said that he was in good physical condition, still exercised regularly, and had not been sick. </p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-2″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gene-Hackman-wife-Betsy-Arakawa.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa sitting next to each other in 1986. Hackman is looking forward while Arakawa is looking at him.” class=”wp-image-3782481″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Gene Hackman and wife Betsy Arakawa pose for a portrait in 1986 in Los Angeles | Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_135″>The younger Hackman also said Arakawa kept an eye on her father, ensuring he ate healthy and remained active. While Leslie and her sister, Elizabeth Hackman, have been open with the media in the days since their father’s shocking death, they are unable to pinpoint when the famed actor and his beloved wife may have died. Leslie told The Daily Mail that she had not spoken to her father for at least a couple of months and had not seen him for just as long. She insists that it was not out of the ordinary and that nothing had been wrong when she spoke to him last, though. It is unclear how long Hackman and Arakawa were dead inside the home, but the state of their remains suggests they had been deceased for a while.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-how-long-were-gene-hackman-and-betty-arakawa-married”>How long were Gene Hackman and Betty Arakawa married?</h2>
<p id=”par-5_59″>Gene Hackman’s tragic and mysterious death has brought his personal life back into the spotlight. Attention was something the famed actor had actively avoided for the years he was married to Betsy Arakawa. Hackman married Betsy Arakawa in 1991 after they were first spotted together in the late 1980s. She was just 30 when they married, Hackman was 61.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-3″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Gene-and-Betsy.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Gene Hackman and Besty Arakawa pose together in 1989. The photograph is black and white.” class=”wp-image-3782517″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Gene Hackman and Besty Arakawa | Purschke/ullstein bild via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
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<p id=”par-6_86″>Despite their long marriage, the duo never had children together. Arakawa, a classically-trained pianist, and Hackman spent much of their marriage in Santa Fe. Meanwhile, Hackman’s children grew up in Los Angeles, and it appears that his two daughters still live in the area. Hackman’s three children, including his two daughters and one son, Christopher Hackman, are from <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gene-hackmans-wife-betsy-arakawa-times-married.html/”>Hackman’s first marriage to Faye Maltese.</a> They married in 1956 and divorced in 1986. His son has not issued a public statement since the announcement of Hackman’s death.</p>