Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were last publicly reported together on March 28, 2024, at a Santa Fe restaurant—nearly 11 months before the couple were found dead at their home. The photographs show a rare public outing, but they do not establish that these were the last photographs ever taken of either person.
The couple’s last publicly reported joint photographs
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were last publicly reported together on March 28, 2024, during an outing at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The photographs were taken nearly 11 months before the couple were found dead at their home on February 26, 2025.
The images received renewed attention after authorities discovered the bodies of Hackman, Arakawa and one of their dogs. Because the couple had largely withdrawn from public life, the restaurant outing became an unusually rare glimpse of them together in their later years.
What the photographs show
Contemporary reports from Us Weekly and a Page Six report republished by Yahoo described Hackman, then 94, walking with a cane and holding Arakawa’s arm. Those reports said he wore a plaid shirt, gray vest, green cargo-style pants, a baseball cap and sneakers.
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Arakawa was described as wearing jeans, boots and a long-sleeved paisley-patterned shirt. The reports also identified the location as Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe. One account said the couple had been seen getting coffee earlier that day.
These descriptions should be understood as details reported about photographs circulated by photo agencies and entertainment-news outlets. The images do not, by themselves, establish Hackman’s medical condition, the couple’s state of mind or anything about what happened after the outing.
Why the March 28, 2024 outing mattered
Hackman and Arakawa had lived a notably private life in New Mexico. Reports at the time described the March 28 appearance as a rare public sighting and said the couple had not been photographed together publicly for many years.
The nearly year-long gap between that outing and the discovery of their bodies made the photographs especially significant. They were not a record of the couple’s final private moments; they were simply the last joint images that had been publicly reported and circulated before the deaths became known.
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Not necessarily. The most accurate description is that they are the couple’s last publicly reported joint photographs or last known public sighting together.
There could have been private family photographs, home-security images, unpublished photographs or other pictures taken after March 28, 2024. Available reporting establishes the last publicly circulated images—not the last photographs ever taken of either person.
What was later determined about their deaths?
Santa Fe County authorities found the couple and one of their dogs at their Santa Fe-area home on February 26, 2025. Initial reports described unusual circumstances at the scene, but later medical findings concluded that both deaths were natural.
At a March 7, 2025 briefing, New Mexico’s chief medical investigator said Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Testing was positive for hantavirus and negative for COVID-19, influenza, other common respiratory viruses and carbon monoxide, according to reports by CNN and The Associated Press.
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Hackman’s cause of death was identified as hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Alzheimer’s disease was listed as a significant contributing factor.
Later reporting by NPR, based on released investigative records, said Arakawa had searched online for information about flu-like and COVID-like symptoms in the days before her death. Those searches help document the chronology examined by investigators, but they do not prove that she knew she had hantavirus or that she had received a diagnosis before her death.
Timeline
| Date | What happened |
|---|---|
| March 28, 2024 | Hackman and Arakawa were photographed during a rare public outing at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe. |
| February 26, 2025 | The couple and one dog were found dead at their New Mexico home. |
| March 7, 2025 | New Mexico officials announced the reported causes of death: hantavirus pulmonary syndrome for Arakawa and cardiovascular disease for Hackman, with Alzheimer’s disease a significant contributing factor. |
| April 16, 2025 | Reporting on released investigative records described Arakawa’s online searches and other details from the final period under investigation. |
Hackman and Arakawa’s private later life
Hackman was a two-time Academy Award winner known for films including The French Connection, Unforgiven, Superman and The Royal Tenenbaums. He retired from acting after Welcome to Mooseport in 2004, according to background reports.
Hackman and Arakawa married in 1991 and lived in New Mexico. Their limited public exposure in later years is part of what made the March 28 restaurant photographs stand out. Even so, the images offer only a narrow record of one public outing and should not be used to draw conclusions about their health, relationship or circumstances beyond what was reported.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When were Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa last seen together publicly?
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were last publicly reported together on March 28, 2024, at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Were these Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s final photographs?
No. They are the last publicly reported joint photographs, but private, family, security-camera or unpublished photographs could have been taken later.
What were the reported causes of Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa’s deaths?
Officials later reported that Arakawa died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman’s cause of death was hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a significant contributing factor.
The Bottom Line
Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa were last publicly reported together in photographs taken at a Santa Fe restaurant on March 28, 2024—nearly 11 months before their bodies were discovered. They are best described as the last known public joint photographs, not necessarily the last images ever taken of the couple.
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