Two-time Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, pianist Betsy Arakawa, have been found dead in their New Mexico home in the US, the Santa Fe County Sheriff has said.
The police said it is currently an active investigation, but they do not believe that foul play was a factor at this time.
Gene Hackman 1930-2025: A Life in Pictures
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The statement from police said: "On February 26 2025 at approximately 1.45pm, 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.
"Foul play is not suspected as a factor in those deaths at this time – however, exact cause of death has not been determined. This is an active and ongoing investigation by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office."
Hackman celebrated his 95th birthday in January. The double Oscar winner, considered to be one of the finest actors in screen history, retired from acting in 2004.
He was a Best Actor Oscar winner in 1972 for his iconic role as the detective Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in William Friedkin's The French Connection.
Hackman won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1993 for his role as the villainous sheriff 'Little' Bill Daggett in the Clint Eastwood western Unforgiven.
Born in San Bernadino, California in 1930, Eugene Alder Hackman served in the US Marines - lying about his age to enlist.
He served from 1947 to 1952 as a field radio operator and then as a broadcast journalist. He went on to study journalism and television production at the University of Illinois but later pivoted to pursue an acting career at the age of 30.
He was a friend and classmate of future co-star Dustin Hoffman at the Pasadena Playhouse in California - where they were voted 'The Least Likely to Succeed' by their fellow pupils.
Hackman and Hoffman moved to New York to further their careers, befriending and living with another future Oscar winner - Robert Duvall as they tried to get a break.
After bit parts and Off-Broadway roles, Hackman made his Broadway debut in Children from Their Games in 1963. Broadway success followed in 1964's Any Wednesday with Hackman's big-screen break coming in the film Lillith in the same year.
He was Oscar-nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, the film that brought him to a wider audience around the world. Another Best Supporting Actor nomination followed for 1970's I Never Sang for My Father.
Then came the role in 1971 that made him a star - Jimmy 'Popeye' Doyle in The French Connection.
Ironically, director Friedkin felt Hackman was not right for the part of Doyle, and numerous other actors were considered before Hackman was eventually cast.
Among his many other screen credits were The Conversation, The Poseidon Adventure, French Connection II, Superman and its sequels, Mississippi Burning, The Firm, and The Royal Tenebaums.
Among Hackman's other honours were BAFTA awards for Best Actor for The French Connection/The Poseidon Adventure and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven; Golden Globes for The French Connection, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums; and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear award for Mississippi Burning.
Reflecting on his career in an interview with Terry Wogan on BBC One's Wogan in 1986, Hackman said: "I never had any large goals as an actor. All I wanted to do was work. I loved it so much..."
Living outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, Hackman was married twice and had three children - Christopher, Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne - with his late ex-wife, Faye Maltese, who died in 2017. He married Ms Arakawa in 1991.
Additional Reporting: Press Association
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