Betsy Arakawa

Biography

Betsy Machiko Arakawa Hackman (December 15, 1959 – c. February 12, 2025) 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.