Gene Hackman’s dog was found dead in bathroom closet near wife Betsy Arakawa’s body
Legendary Hollywood star Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa have been found dead in their New Mexico home.
The couple, who had been married since 1991, were found dead in separate bedrooms of their Santa Fe home, police revealed. One of their three dogs was also found dead inside a kennel, located in the same bathroom where Betsy was found.
Police have said that no foul play is suspected and that two dogs survived the triple tragedy.
While the bodies were found Wednesday afternoon, police were not able to identify them as the actor and Arakawa until Thursday morning, according to KOB 4.
Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza did not provide a cause of death, nor did he say when the couple might have died, when asked by local media.
Further updates on the shocking triple tragedy are expected later on Thursday.
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Hackman’s dog is found dead in bathroom closet near wife Betsy Arakawa’s body
Inside Gene Hackman compound where star indulged his love of home improvement and hid away from the world – before he was found dead there with wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog
Hollywood star Gene Hackman spent decades perfecting his 12-acre New Mexico hideaway home where he lived a reclusive life far from the glitz of the movie business – and where he was found dead today with his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog.
Two-time Oscar-winner Hackman, who just turned 95 last month, had spent much of his life overhauling and recreating of portfolio of impressive homes.
And his two latest property projects sat on the compound where the married couple, who wed in 1991, were found alongside their dog on Wednesday morning – with local media reporting that no foul play was suspected.
He first bought the compound in 1990 due to its stunning location. With a 360-degree view stretching as far as the Colorado mountains, it was an ideal spot for Hackman to take on.
After renovating a home already on the site, he built a second in 2000. It is still not known which property the pair were found in.
In recent years Hackman retreated to the compound following years of Hollywood success.
For the acting star the remote location of Sante Fe allowed him to stay out of the public eye and ‘had a kind of magic in it’.
At the time, the home renovation in 1990 was the star’s tenth with other projects of his being in Montecito and California. He also owned his own island just off the coast of Washington.
Gene Hackman arrives with his wife, Betsy Arakawa, for the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards
He first bought the compound in 1990 due to its stunning location. With a 360-degree view stretching as far as the Colorado mountains, it was an ideal spot for Hackman to take on
After renovating a first home already on the site, he built a second in 2000. It is still not known which property the pair were found in
Police are stationed outside the home of actor Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The couple’s bodies were found in separate rooms of the mansion on Wednesday
‘I think it’s like being an actor. I interpret what’s already there,’ he told Architectural Digest.
He added: ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I guess I like the process, and when it’s over, it’s over.’
After buying the land, he called upon Santa Fe architects Harry Daple and Stephen Samuelson of Studio Arquitectura to help create his vision.
‘The house was horrible,’ said Samuelson. ‘It was a 1950s block building that had sat empty and had deteriorated. But it was a great site, and the foundation had been well placed on the land.’
Hackman and his wife Betsey transformed the home into a lighter space with open spaces and French doors.
They were not interested in recreating native pueblo architecture. ‘It’s not purist at all,’ Samuelson added. ‘It’s more primitive, like a barn converted into a house, massive and cozy at the same time.’
The majority of the roof was removed to allow the ceiling to be raised while walls were knocked down throughout making three smaller rooms into the centerpiece of the house.
Acting as the main living area, it had tree-trunk columns, comfy sofas, and a modern stereo system to fill the home with music.
While Hackman was away filming, Betsy remained on site while the renovations work went ahead at Sante Fe home
Hollywood legend Hackman won two Oscars – he is pictured here celebrating his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1993, following his performance in Unforgiven
Hackman revealed he wanted a ‘great-hall feeling’ with rooms opening off it and ‘not closed off’ by walls.
He admitted it was ‘totally different’ to his other homes, including his Montecito house which he described as ‘very formal’.
Hackman was said to be involved in every aspect of renovation and even helped out with the demolition. He also mixed paints to show workmen the exact colour he wanted for the home.
While Hackman was away filming, Betsy remained on site while the renovations went ahead. She would consult Hackman by phone and send him photographs of the work in progress.
Samuelson said he was a ‘deeply involved client, very artistic, very keen on details’.
The home was furnished with antiques from around the world and was designed to be a ‘haven’ for when Hackman wasn’t away filming.
He was fixed on an authentic look blending Santa Fe furnishings with other items bought from auctions in New York and antique shops in Los Angeles and even Germany.
Hackman had not starred in a movie since 2004, when he played Monroe ‘Eagle’ Cole in the political satire Welcome to Mooseport.
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Awakawa are pictured here in Santa Fe, in the US state of New Mexico, in March 2024
Hackman announced his retirement from acting in 21 years ago – he was pictured here looking frail while out and about in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in March 2024
He announced his retirement from acting that year, leaving Los Angeles for a quieter life in New Mexico – and resisting any overtures to return in front of the camera.
Hackman told of how his decision was influenced by the strain he suffered when acting, as well as health issues concerning his heart.
He told of receiving a health warning from a doctor, while saying in a statement at the time: ‘The business for me is very stressful.’
He had previously undergone surgery after facing problems with his heart – having been rushed to the hospital with chest pain and needing to have a balloon catheter inserted to help open an artery that had dangerously narrowed.
Hackman moved in the 1980s to the area of Santa Fe, where he was often seen around town and served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper The New Mexican.
Rare recent pictures of Hackman showed him holding on to his wife’s arm for balance as the pair grabbed a bite at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe in March last year.
The couple’s outing marked the first time they were seen together in public for 21 years, with the previous time being at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards where he won the Cecil B. deMille award.
After leaving the spotlight, Hackman settled in Santa Fe where he also took up fishing, painting, and writing – and penned three historical fiction novels with undersea archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, as well as two books on his own.
Hackman is seen here in the 1992 western directed by Clint Eastwood, Unforgiven
Law enforcement officials talk outside Gene Hackman’s Santa Fe compound on Thursday. The actor and his wife’s bodies were found in separate rooms of the mansion. An associate of the couple called emergency services after discovering the bodies
The entrance to the gated community in Santa Fe, New Mexico where actor Gene Hackman, his wife Betsy Arakawa and their dog were found dead in their home is shown on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025
In 2011, he was asked by GQ whether he would ever come out of retirement to do one more film – to which Hackman responded: ‘If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people.’
The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office has today confirmed Hackman and his wife were found dead along with their dog on Wednesday afternoon in their Santa Fe home.
The actor and his wife’s bodies were found in separate rooms of the mansion. An associate of the couple called emergency services after discovering the bodies.
One of their three dogs was found dead inside a kennel, according to Santa Fe Sheriff Adan Mendoza who told TMZ police found two surviving dogs at Hackman’s residence on Wednesday.
While officials had said foul play is not suspected, Mendoza said he’s not ruling anything out in the deaths. He added that no suicide note was found and there were no obvious signs of trauma to the bodies.
‘At this stage in the process there isn’t anything obvious like that,’ the sheriff said. ‘The autopsy is going to tell us more.’
The sheriff added: ‘We’re not going to guess this was an accident or natural causes… It wasn’t typical.
Hackman’s daughter, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, said she thinks her father and his wife died from carbon monoxide poisoning. She told TMZ that while they are not sure of the couple’s cause of death, they think it could be due to inhaling toxic fumes.
As well as his two Oscars, Hackman also clinched two Baftas, four Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award in an acting career which spanned six decades.
He secured the Oscar for Best Actor in 1972 for his role as Detective Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in The French Connection, before taking the Best Supporting Actor prize for his part in 1992 western Unforgiven.
Hackman, born in California in 1930, left home at age 16 to enlist in the marine corps and served from 1947 to 1952 as a field radio operator and then as a broadcast journalist.
Hackman’s roles included arch villain Lex Luthor in Superman movies
His first Academy Award came for playing Jimmy ‘Popeye’ Doyle in The French Connection
Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa are pictured here at the ‘AATLE’ Actors as Artists the Limited Edition Party in Los Angeles in 1992
He went on to study journalism and television production at the University of Illinois, but later pivoted to pursue an acting career.
Hackman had a few TV and theatre roles before breaking through with his performance in 1967’s Bonnie And Clyde, which starred Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the title roles.
That display as Clyde Barrow’s brother Buck landed him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He also achieved Oscar nods for his role in 1970’s I Never Sang For My Father and 1988’s thriller Mississippi Burning.
Hackman also portrayed supervillain Lex Luthor in the 1978 Superman film starring Christopher Reeve in the eponymous role and Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman’s biological father.
He reprised the role for its subsequent sequels, 1980’s Superman II and 1987’s Superman IV: The Quest For Peace.
Gene Hackman (left) played Buck Barrow, the brother of Clyde Barrow portrayed by Warren Beatty (right), in 1967 classic movie Bonnie And Clyde
One of Gene Hackman’s final films was The Royal Tenenbaums, released in 2001
His last on-screen movie role was in 2004’s Welcome To Mooseport – he is seen here performing in the film alongside co-star Christine Baranski
Hackman acted opposite many Hollywood heavyweights including Al Pacino in 1973’s Scarecrow.
He also appeared alongside Gene Wilder in 1974’s Young Frankenstein – the pair also having performed together in Bonnie And Clyde – as well as Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in 1981’s Reds.
His other notable roles included the hit movies The Poseidon Adventure from 1972, 1974’s The Conversation and Runaway Jury in 2003.
Hackman also featured in the star-studded cast of Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums in 2001, three years before his final film role.
