Gene Hackman And Wife Betsy Arakawa’s Relationship Timeline

Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman and his wife, renowned classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, shared a loving marriage of over 30 years until their tragic passing on February 26.

Prior to his marriage to Arakawa, Hackman was married to Faye Maltese from 1956 to 1986, with whom he had three children: Christopher, Elizabeth, and Leslie. Maltese passed away in 2017.

Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa's romance blossomed in the mid-1980s, following Hackman's separation from his first wife, Faye Maltese

A 1989 New York Times profile revealed that Gene Hackman had been living a quiet life with Betsy Arakawa, a 28-year-old classical pianist, for the past five years.

By 1990, Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa settled into their newly built Santa Fe, New Mexico home, a 12-acre piñon-covered hilltop retreat with stunning 360-degree views.

In 1999, Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa adopted a German Shepherd named Gene from a Baltimore shelter after the dog wandered onto the set of Hackman's film, The Replacements.

In 2014, retired actor Gene Hackman credited his wife Betsy Arakawa with helping him develop his writing style, citing her meticulous editing and feedback on his novels.

Gene Hackman shared with Empire magazine in 2020 that he and wife Betsy Arakawa enjoyed low-key evenings watching indie films and comedy, particularly admiring Eddie Izzard's humor.

In March 2024, after decades of keeping a low profile, Gene Hackman, 93, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 62, were spotted together in public.

In March 2024, 93-year-old Gene Hackman was photographed walking with a cane and holding onto wife Betsy Arakawa's arm as they left a seafood restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico.