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Gene Hackman Through the Years: His Life and Career in Photos

Oscar winner Gene Hackman has died at the age of 95.

Hackman, his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and their dog were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on Wednesday, February 26. Arakawa was 63.

A cause of death is not yet known, though foul play is not suspected, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office told Us Weekly.

Hackman began his acting career more than six decades ago and was celebrated for his roles in The French Connection and Unforgiven. He stepped back from Hollywood in the early 2000s.

Actor Gene Hackman, Wife Betsy Arakawa, Found Dead in New Mexico

Scroll below to see the actor’s life in photos:

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Hackman began his Hollywood career with a role in the film Lilith in 1964. He went on to win Academy Award nominations for 1967’s Bonnie and Clyde and 1970’s I Never Sang for My Father.

© Getty Images

The actor won his first Oscar in 1972 for his portrayal of detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in 1971’s The French Connection.
He kept his acceptance speech simple. "Thank you very much. I just want to start at the beginning just for a second and say, sitting out there next to Barbara Harris reminds me of my first acting scene ever,” he said.
"It was in New York, and the gentlemen sitting in front of us when we were doing that scene was my acting teacher, and I just have to mention his name: George Morrison. I want to thank him," he added, before going on to thank the film’s director, William Friedkin, "because he really brought me through this when I wanted to quit.”

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As Hackman’s career was taking off, his personal life took a different turn. The actor and his wife Faye Maltese separated in the mid-1980s after spending three decades together. Their divorce was finalized in 1986.
"We just drifted apart," Hackman told the Florida South Sun-Sentinal in 1985.
"We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love," he added.
The former couple had three children together: Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie. Maltese died in 2017.

© Donaldson Collection/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

In 1989, The New York Times reported that "for the last five years" Hackman had “been living quietly with classical pianist Betsy Arakawa.
They were photographed together in L.A. in 1986. The couple wed in 1991.

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Hackman won a second Academy Award for his role in Clint Eastwood’s 1992 Western film, Unforgiven.

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Hackman was honored with the Cecile B. DeMille Award at the 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards in 2003. 
The following year, Hackman announced that he did not have any upcoming projects in the works. He confirmed his retirement from acting four years later in 2008.
In a 2020 interview with Empire, Hackman said he decided to step away for health reasons. 
"The straw that broke the camel’s back was actually a stress test that I took in New York," he shared. "The doctor advised me that my heart wasn’t in the kind of shape that I should be putting it under any stress.”
 

Teddi Mellencamp Has Staples Removed After Brain Tumor Surgery

Teddi Mellencamp is continuing to show fans how she’s healing after her brain tumor surgery.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum, 43, took to her Instagram Story on Wednesday, February 26, with an update from a doctor’s office. “Got my staples out today,” she captioned a black-and-white video of herself sitting in an exam room.

Mellencamp’s hair was buzzed short, and a scar was briefly shown on the side of her head. Friends who accompanied her cheered softly in the background, telling the reality star she did a “good job.”

In a separate Instagram Story video, Mellencamp showed herself being treated to a relaxing facial. “Thank you to my friend @thelafacialist for offering to pamper me. Felt so good,” she wrote.

Teddi Mellencamp Breaks Her Silence After Surgery for Brain Tumors

Mellencamp announced on February 12 that she had suffered from “severe and debilitating headaches” for several weeks that eventually “required hospitalization.” Following a CT scan and an MRI, “multiple tumors” were found on Mellencamp’s brain, which doctors “believe have been growing for at least six months.”

Teddi Mellencamp Has Staples Removed After Brain Tumor Surgery
Teddi Mellencamp Courtesy of Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave/Instagram

At the time, Mellencamp said two of the tumors were being “surgically removed” that day, explaining that the “remaining smaller tumors will be dealt with via radiation at a later date.”

Mellencamp’s estranged husband, Edwin Arroyave, revealed via Instagram one day later that her surgery “went well” and thanked fans for their support. “That said, I’ve never seen [her] in so much pain. She’s finally getting some needed rest,” he added.

Arroyave, 47, was by Mellencamp’s side in the hospital as she prepared for her operation. The Bravo star announced her split from Arroyave — with whom she shares Slate, 12, Cruz, 10, and Dove, 5 — in November 2024. (Mellencamp is also stepmom to Arroyave’s eldest daughter, Isabella.)

Teddi Mellencamp Has Staples Removed After Brain Tumor Surgery 2
Teddi Mellencamp Courtesy of Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave/Instagram

Before sharing a closer look at her recovery, Mellencamp broke her silence on her surgery in an Instagram statement on Wednesday. “I am grateful for the incredible surgeons, doctors and nurses who made my surgery a success and my recovery process more comfortable,” she wrote. “In full transparency, more tumors were removed than expected: 4 in total. This fight is not over, but that round has been won.”

Terry and Heather Dubrow Share Teddi Mellencamp Brain Cancer Update

Mellencamp noted that the “outpouring” of well-wishes from fans and friends was “definitely helping me stay strong, adding, “The laughter, support, and patience of my kids, my family, and my closest friends is one gift with which words cannot properly express my gratitude.”

Fans have followed Mellencamp’s health journey since she revealed her stage II melanoma diagnosis in October 2022. Two years later, Mellencamp shared a positive update on her skin cancer battle.

“I just got done having a little cry, but it’s a good one. It’s the first time in over two years I’ve gone in for my three-month check and not had to have a biopsy because I have another cancerous spot,” she said via Instagram at the time. “Both me and my doctor, we just looked at each other and we were like, ‘What?’ It was, oh my gosh, such a good feeling.”

© FilmMagic; Inset: Courtesy of Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave/Instagram

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