Who was Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa who was famous in her own right
Gene Hackman was found dead with his wife Betsy Arakawa and their pet dog in their New Mexico home, according to Santa Fe police.
While the actor was 95 at the time of his death, Betsy was just 64. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said that there was no foul play, but gave no further details about the time or cause of death, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
“We can confirm that both Gene Hackman and his wife were found deceased Wednesday afternoon at their residence on Sunset Trail. This is an active investigation – however, at this time we do not believe that foul play was a factor,” Mendoza said. “I want to assure the community and neighbourhood that there’s no immediate danger to anyone.”
While the details of Betsy and Gene’s deaths have not yet been released in the “preliminary death investigation,” the couple seemed incredibly close in in the years leading up to their tragic passing.
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Gene retired from acting in 2008, and while he hasn’t been seen in front of the camera for decades he was occasionally spotted out in New Mexico with his wife, going out for meals or attending cultural events.
Betsy was Gene’s second wife, after he married Faye Maltese in 1956. Gene and Faye went on to have a son and two daughters, but ultimately divorced in 1986.
Some rumours suggest that Gene and Betsy started dating while he was still in his first marriage with Faye, and while the actor has remained tight-lipped on the subject he did suggest that suggestions he only moved onto Betsy because of her young age were wrong.
“By the way, I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman. We just drifted apart. We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love,” he once said, according to People.
Betsy was born in Hawaii in 1961, and met Gene in a California gym of all places, while she was working there part-time. Her gym job wasn’t her passion, however, and she was only working the role in order to pursue her musical dreams, being a classically trained pianist. She and Gene tied the knot in 1991, when she was just 30.
Betsy also had an eye for interior design, and worked with Gene to make their Santa Fe home perfect just for them. The duo worked together to bring different cultural influences in the house and decided on details such as paint and furniture themselves. Gene and Betsy’s work even landed them a feature in the Architectural Digest in 1990, showing off the idyllic home they’d built together on top of a hill, with acres of land.
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