Santa Fe deputies were called to the home of Hackman, 95, and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, 63, after a neighbor called for a welfare check

Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman, his wife and their dog were found dead in their New Mexico home, authorities said Thursday. While foul play was not suspected, authorities did not release circumstances of their deaths. An investigation was ongoing.

Hackman, 95, Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog were all dead when deputies entered their home to check on their welfare around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Denise Avila said.

“We do not believe foul play was a factor in their deaths however, exact cause of death has not been determined at this time,” the Santa Fe Sheriff’s office told Sky News.

NBC News has contacted the sheriff’s office and Hackman’s representatives for comment.

As the investigation continues, here’s what we know right now.

How did Gene Hackman die?

Deputies were called at about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday to Hackman’s home in Santa Fe for a welfare check following a call from a neighbor. When deputies arrived, “Gene Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64 and a dog were found deceased,” the county sheriff’s public information officer, Denise Womack Avila, said in a statement.

The bodies of Hackman and Arakawa were not formally identified until the overnight hours Thursday.

Hackman met Arakawa, a classically trained pianist who grew up in Hawaii, when she was working part-time at a California gym in the mid-1980s, the New York Times reported in 1989. The two soon moved in together, and by the end of the decade had bought their home in Santa Fe.

The large Southwestern-style ranch in a gated community just outside New Mexico’s capital city sits on a hill with views of the Rocky Mountains.

Hackman was often seen around town and served as a board member of the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the 1990s, according to the local paper, The New Mexican.

Aside from appearances at awards shows, he was rarely seen in the Hollywood social circuit and retired about 20 years ago. His was the rare Hollywood retirement that actually lasted.

In his later years, he wrote novels.

Who was Gene Hackman?

The gruff-but-beloved Hackman was among the finest actors of his generation, appearing as villains, heroes and antiheroes in dozens of dramas, comedies and action films from the 1960s until his retirement in the early 2000s.

He was a five-time Oscar nominee who won for “The French Connection” in 1972 and “Unforgiven” two decades later. His death comes just four days before this year’s ceremony.

Hackman had three children from a previous marriage, but he and Arakawa had no children together. In 1999 they had adopted three German shepherds, according to the Baltimore Sun.

Hackman told the film magazine Empire in 2020 that he and Arakawa liked to watch DVDs she rented.

“We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,” he said.

Hackman was born in 1930 in San Bernardino, California, but moved to Danville, Illinois, a town in central Illinois along the Indiana border “as a young boy,” a post from the Danville Public Library stated.

The post went on to say that Hackman returned to Danville following military service, working as a TV cameraman at WDAN in Vermillion County before heading back to California to pursue acting.

What movies was Gene Hackman in?

One of the 20th century’s greatest actors, Hackman’s career spanned more than 40 years and a variety of roles, from tough-guy parts to comedic turns, playing heroes, villains and one iconic sports coach in ways that captivated audiences.

Here’s a list of notable Hackman films:

1961 — “Mad Dog Coll” (debut)

1964 — “Lilith”

1966 — “Hawaii”

1967 —”Bonnie and Clyde” (Academy Award nomination, supporting actor)

1969 — “The Gypsy Moths,” “Downhill Racer,” “I Never Sang for My Father” (Academy nomination, supporting actor)

1971 — “The French Connection” (as “Popeye” Doyle, best actor Academy Award win)

1972 — “Prime Cut,” “Cisco Pike,” “The Poseidon Adventure”

1974 — “The Conversation,” “Young Frankenstein” (cameo)

1975 — “The French Connection II,” “Lucky Lady”

1978 — “Superman” (as Lex Luthor)

1980 — “Superman II”

1981 — “Reds”

1983 — “Superman III”

1986 — “Hoosiers”

1987 — “No Way Out,” “Superman IV”

1988 — “Mississippi Burning” (best actor Academy Award nomination)

1992 — “Unforgiven” (Academy Award win for supporting actor)

1993 — “The Firm”

1995 — “Crimson Tide,” “Get Shorty”

1996 — “The Birdcage,” “The Chamber,” “Extreme Measures”

1997 — “Absolute Power”

1998 — “Twilight,” “Enemy of the State”

2000 — “Under Suspicion,” “The Replacements”

2001 — “The Mexican,” “Heist,” “The Royal Tenenbaums,” “Behind Enemy Lines”

2003 — “Runaway Jury”

2004 — “Welcome to Mooseport”