Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at the ages of 95 and 63, respectively.
The Oscar-winning actor and Arakawa, a classical pianist, were discovered in their New Mexico home on Feb 26.
There is no evidence of foul play, the sheriff’s office said in a statement obtained by NBC News.
Hackman has three adult children from his previous marriage to Faye Maltese: Christopher, 65, Elizabeth, 63, and Leslie, 58. The former couple were together for three decades before divorcing in 1986. Maltese passed away in 2017.
In 2000, Hackman said that his career had been “tough” on his kids.
“I couldn’t always be home with them when they were growing up and then, living in California, they’ve had my success always hanging over their heads,” Hackman told The Irish Independent.
Read on to learn more about Gene Hackman’s three children: Christopher, Elizabeth and Leslie.
Chistopher Allen Hackman
The “Superman” actor and Maltese welcomed son Christopher in 1960.
In 1984, when Christopher was in his 20s, Hackman was asked if the two men had replaced hugs with handshakes when greeting each other.
“No, we still hug to this day, and I thank God that we are able to do that,” Hackman told journalist Leta Powell. “I don’t think we’ll ever have a point where we have to shake hands.”
Christopher was at one point considering a career in the film industry.
“My son thought he wanted to be an actor at one time and was in New York, and I wrote him a couple of little monologues,” Hackman said during a conversation with Empire magazine in 2020.
In an earlier interview, Hackman revealed that he didn’t feel comfortable giving Christopher advice.
“I lost touch with my son in terms of advice early on,” Hackman told GQ in 2011. “Maybe it had to do with being gone so much, doing location films when he was at an age where he needed support and guidance. It was very tough for me to be gone for three months and then come home and start bossing him around.”
Elizabeth Jean Hackman
Hackman kept his personal life private, and there are very few public statements about Elizabeth, who was born in August 1962.
When Elizabeth was a child, she attended events with her dad, including a 1978 screening of “Superman.” In 1996, she was photographed at the premiere of Hackman’s film “The Chamber” alongside her sister, Leslie, and stepmother, Arakawa.
Leslie Anne Hackman
Leslie joined siblings Christopher and Jean in October 1996. Like Christopher and Jean, she has remained out of the spotlight.
In 1984, Hackman revealed that his “youngest daughter” was “affected” by his film “Misunderstood,” in which Hackman played a shipping tycoon raising two young sons after his wife’s death.
