Betsy Arakawa

Betsy Machiko Arakawa Hackman (December 15, 1959 ) was an American classical pianist and businesswoman. Born in Hawaii, she performed with the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra at the age of eleven and later worked for the television game show Card Sharks as a production assistant. She met Gene Hackman in the 1980s, marrying him in 1991 and assisting with his novels. In 2001, she co-founded a linens and home furnishings store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she and Hackman lived; the couple were also business partners in a local Asian restaurant.

Arakawa was found dead along with her husband, Gene Hackman, and one of their three dogs at their home in Santa Fe on February 26, 2025. This led to an investigation that showed that she died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome around February 12, about a week before Hackman.

Life and career Betsy Machiko Arakawa was born on December 15, 1959, raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, An only child, she was raised by her mother, who was a businesswoman. She went to Kahala Elementary School and Punahou School. Arakawa studied social sciences and communication at the University of Southern California from 1981 to 1983. She later completed a master's degree in liberal arts at St. John's College in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Arakawa met Hackman in the 1980s while working part-time at a Los Angeles fitness center when he had forgotten his membership card and she refused to let him in. Arakawa and Hackman acquired a property on Old Sunset Trail, a residential area in the mountains of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Their home also had a separate studio building that had Arakawa's grand pianos on one side and Hackman's art studio on the other. after which Arakawa stopped performing in concert. On February 12, 2025, Arakawa called a physician, who runs a private health clinic in Santa Fe, and made an appointment for that afternoon, but did not show up. Arakawa died in their home a short time later from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease passed from rodents. Two weeks later, maintenance workers found the Hackmans and one of their three dogs, named Zinna, dead in their home. In the ensuing investigation, their deaths were initially treated as suspicious. Arakawa's cause of death was announced at a press conference on March 7, 2025, by investigators, who also announced that she had died about a week before her husband, who died from heart disease. Investigators believe Hackman, who had advanced Alzheimer's disease, did not comprehend Arakawa's death and did not report it.

Yoshie Feaster, Arakawa's mother who was 91 years old at the time, stated that she experienced great emotional distress from the widespread media coverage and speculation surrounding her daughter's death. She requested in court that images and footage of the corpses of Arakawa, Hackman, and their dog be blocked from publication.