Gene Hackman Married Betsy Arakawa Years After His First Marriage to Faye Maltese

Actor Gene Hackman built a legendary career with roles in Superman, Get Shorty, and Enemy of the State, but his personal life had its own twists and turns.

Raised in a broken home, Gene’s childhood wasn’t easy. His father was abusive and walked out when he was just 13, per the Associated Press, via Fox News, and his mother turned to alcohol to cope. Despite it all, he built a family of his own.

He married Faye Maltese in 1956, and together they had three kids — Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie.

The marriage lasted until 1986. Then came Betsy Arakawa, whom he married in 1991. Tragically, Gene and Betsy’s lives ended together. On Feb. 26, 2025, they were found deceased in their New Mexico home, along with their dog. Authorities confirmed all three were pronounced dead at the scene, per the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Here’s everything we know about their relationship, from how they met to what life was like for them before their deaths.

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s relationship began around 1984, according to a New York Times interview from March 1989. At the time, Gene was filming The Package and revealed, "For the last five years, he has been living quietly with a 28-year-old woman named Betsy Arakawa."

Betsy was a classical pianist and met Gene while working part-time at a fitness center in California. By the late '80s, the couple was living together in a two-bedroom adobe-style home in Santa Fe, N.M.

By then, Gene’s three kids were already grown — two were in college and one was writing computer software.

Around 1990, Gene and Betsy moved into a home on 12 acres near Santa Fe, a move Gene discussed in an Architectural Digest interview. Instead of sticking to the home’s "pure Pueblo architecture," the couple had a vision for something different — "light and soaring space, an open floor plan, and French doors."

They worked together to remodel the home, with Betsy frequently on-site overseeing the project. When she wasn’t there, she kept Gene updated, "consulting with [him] by phone and sending photographs of the work in progress."

A year after the interview, Gene and Betsy made it official, tying the knot in 1991.

Although Gene had been retired from acting for 16 years, he offered an insightful look into his life during a 2020 interview with Empire. Reflecting on his retirement, the outlet noted, "There was no press release. He just slipped away into the anonymity of life with his wife, Betsy Arakawa."

During his retirement, Gene focused on writing and enjoying a quiet life with Betsy. He shared that they often watched "DVDs that my wife rents; we like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce," he told Empire. As for Friday nights, well, the couple reserved those for unwinding with a Comedy Channel marathon, per the outlet.

Over the years, Gene and Betsy continued to enjoy each other’s company, occasionally stepping out and being spotted together by paparazzi. Tragically, the couple was found dead on Feb. 26, 2025, alongside their dog in their Santa Fe home. While the cause of death has yet to be disclosed, officials have stated that no foul play is suspected. Gene was 95, and Betsy was 63.