Gene Hackman, Hollywood veteran and father of three, was found dead in his Santa Fe home on February 26, 2025, alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa.
Their deaths were not being treated as suspicious, and an investigation later found that Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, while Hackman was likely to have died of heart disease roughly a week later, as his wife was his primary caretaker.
The deceased actor's daughter, Leslie, shared at the time that he had been in good health during their last visit.
© WireImage"Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition," she told the Daily Mail.
"He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health." She added that his passing was "not terribly shocking because he was 95."
"We need to wait and find out whatever information from the police. We weren't expecting to have to go out there and go through the house and all that," she also said.
© Getty ImagesHackman welcomed kids Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie with his first wife, Faye Maltese, to whom he was married from 1956 to 1986. Here's what we know about his relationship with them.
Leslie expressed grief over her stepmother Betsy's passing as well, revealing that they had a "wonderful marriage."
Growing up as the child of the legendary actor was not easy, as Hackman would travel for months at a time without seeing his family.
The fivesome lived in a small New York apartment with no hot water while he tried to break onto the Hollywood scene, until the Superman star found success; however, fame and fortune meant leaving his kids behind
"You spend so many years wanting desperately to be recognized as having the talent and then when you're starting to be offered these parts, it's very tough to turn anything down," he confessed to The New York Times.
"Even though I had a family, I took jobs that would separate us for three or four months at a time. The temptations in that, the money and recognition, it was too much for the poor boy in me. I wasn't able to handle that."
© GC ImagesChristopher, Elizabeth and Leslie would occasionally join their father at awards shows or film premieres; however, they mostly chose to avoid the spotlight.
"It's tough being the son or daughter of a celebrity," Gene admitted to the Irish Independent. "I couldn't always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, they've had my success always hanging over their heads."
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyAs Faye shouldered the majority of the parenting, the Oscar winner found it difficult to slot back into his family dynamic after projects had wrapped.
"I didn't handle it very well, really. I took care of my family. You know, my family's never wanted for anything," he told Larry King.
© Ron Galella Collection via Getty"But because I was so enamored of the Hollywood of old, you know, the glamour of that, although I never involved myself in that, I was really...taken with that, and the fact that I was part of that."
He continued: "And that I was — I could be anything and anyone I wanted to be. It was a long time before I settled down before I got to the point where I could discern what was really right for me."
