New details are emerging about the months leading up to Gene Hackman’s death. According to the Daily Mail, Hackman’s daughter Leslie Hackman is speaking out about her father’s and her relationship with him in the months preceding it. Leslie shared that she hadn’t talked to her father in “a couple of months” before he and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, and one of the couple’s dogs were found dead in their New Mexico home.
Leslie explained that she and the rest of the family are waiting to hear back from law enforcement in regards to her father and stepmother’s cause of death. She noted that “there was no indication that there was any problem” with the legendary actor before this incident. Even though Hackman was 95 years old at the time of his death, Leslie said that he still lived a very active lifestyle.
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“Despite his age, he was in very good physical condition,’ she revealed, while adding that her father did not have any major surgeries these last few months,” Leslie shared. “He liked to do Pilates and yoga, and he was continuing to do that several times a week. So he was in good health.” As for when she was last in contact with Hackman, Leslie stated, “We were close. I hadn’t talked to them for a couple months, but everything was normal and everything was good.”
Considering that they had no immediate cause for concern, Leslie and her two siblings, Christopher and Elizabeth, are waiting for more information that could explain the circumstances behind Hackman and Arakawa’s deaths. She told the Daily Mail that she plans on going to the couple’s New Mexico home once she hears back from the authorities.
Hackman and Arakawa, who were married for more than 30 years, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home on Wednesday, Feb. 26. They were found dead alongside one of their three dogs. An investigation into their cause of death is still underway.
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Malibu, CA, – September 09, 2026: A sinkhole is seen from a drone on a street and driveway of a seaside home affected by recent heavy surf on Sea Level Drive on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026 in Malibu, CA. An evacuation order was in effect today along Sea Level Drive in Malibu, where pounding surf and coastal erosion opened a massive sinkhole at actor Nicolas Cage's beachfront home, prompting the city to declare a local emergency.(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)







