“Hollywood legend” Gene Hackman and his wife, 30 years his junior, lived together for more than 30 years, before passing away about a week apart.

On March 14, the will of actor Gene Hackman and pianist Betsy Arakawa Hackman became the focus of Hollywood. According to news sites, the two named each other as heirs, with Mr. Hackman’s estate alone estimated at $80 million. He has three children with his first wife, Ms. Faye Maltese, Christopher Allen, 65, Elizabeth Jean, 62, and Leslie Anne, 58, but they were not listed as beneficiaries.

The news came more than two weeks after authorities discovered their sudden deaths at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on February 26. The actor was 95 and his wife died at the age of 65.

The media is currently interested in the “fate” of Gene Hackman’s assets. According to BBC , although Mr. Hackman’s three children are not named in the will, they can claim inheritance rights because they are the legal heirs after Betsy. As for Betsy, she once determined that if the two died within 90 days of each other, the assets left to her husband would be transferred to charity funds.

Gene Hackman and his wife at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards. Photo: WireImage

Gene Hackman and his wife’s lives have also attracted much attention since their deaths. Most audiences want to know more about the couple because they lived a private life, rarely revealing their personal life to the public during their more than 30 years together. According to Us Weekly , the two first met at a gym in California – where Betsy worked part-time – in the mid-1980s. At that time, she was in her twenties and he was in his fifties.

It is unclear when they started dating, but some news sites believe they fell in love after the actor split from his first wife. He and Faye Maltese married in 1956 and divorced in 1986. Fans did not know he had a new love until 1989, when the NY Times reported that the actor had “lived quietly with his 28-year-old pianist girlfriend for the past five years.” In 1991, the couple married and became increasingly isolated from the public.

The Hackmans’ home in New Mexico before they got married. In 1990, they bought a villa, and Betsy helped her husband renovate the house while he was busy filming. Photo: AP

Their marriage was simple but romantic. In an interview with Empire in 2020, Mr. Hackman rarely spoke about his life with his wife. The actor said that the two often watched DVDs rented by Ms. Betsy, enjoying “simple stories from low-budget studios.” They often spent Fridays watching comedy shows.

According to People , neighbors said Betsy was very concerned about her husband’s health, especially when his Alzheimer’s disease became severe. In recent years, she encouraged him to exercise his mind and body by solving puzzles, cycling, and taking yoga classes on Zoom every day. A neighbor commented that Mr. and Mrs. Hackman were “the most attached couple” he had ever seen, praising them for being kind, private but sincere and funny. Some of the couple’s friends said that the actor’s wife cooked well, and attributed his longevity to her attentive care.

In a March interview with the NY Post , Gene Hackman’s youngest daughter, Leslie Anne, described her father and stepmother’s marriage as “wonderful” and credited her for helping her father thrive. “I appreciate what she did for my father and I’m saddened by her passing,” she added.

“Hollywood legend” Gene Hackman and his wife in their last public appearance, in March 2024. Photo: The Economic Times

Betsy not only worried about her husband’s health, but also helped the actor pursue his literary career after he retired in 2004. On the Writer’s Bone podcast in 2014, Hackman credited his wife for helping him hone his writing skills. “If my writing has any substance, it’s thanks to the many edits, suggestions from friends, and the times my wife read and re-read my manuscripts,” he said.

According to AARP , the actor underwent angioplasty for heart failure in 1990, which was one of the reasons he quit acting. He then turned to writing, releasing his first work, Wake of the Perdido Star , in 1999. He has since published four more books. Pursuit (2013) is his most recent novel, a detective novel.

The couple, who have no children, live with their dogs. People who know them describe them as animal lovers. In 1999, Hackman found two stray dogs on the set of The Replacements in Baltimore and took them to a local animal rescue. He named them Gene and Keanu after himself and his co-star Keanu Reeves. The couple later adopted Gene.

According to People , the unit’s staff at the time said that Mr. and Mrs. Hackman treated the staff very well when going through the adoption process. “They followed the steps like normal people. He kept thanking us, as well as apologizing for wasting everyone’s time. Mrs. Betsy came back to visit and bathe Gene before taking him back to New Mexico,” this person said. Before their death, they lived with three dogs. One of them died with the two people due to dehydration and starvation, according to the autopsy results. The other two were healthy at the time the police discovered them.

Excerpt from the trailer for “The French Connection” (1971). The film won him the Oscar for Best Actor in 1972. Video: 20th Century Fox

Gene Hackman was born in 1930 in California, is one of the best actors of all time, with more than 40 years of entertainment industry. His famous films include The French Connection , Bonnie and Clyde and The Royal Tenenbaums . During his career, he received two Oscars, two BAFTAs, and the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003.

On March 7, the New Mexico state government announced that the actor died of a combination of severe heart disease, high blood pressure, and late-stage Alzheimer’s on February 18. His wife died about a week earlier from pneumonia caused by the rare Hantavirus – a type that lives mainly in rodents.