Gene Hackman’s Daughters and Granddaughter Break Silence on His Death: ‘He Was Always Just Dad and Grandpa’

Gene Hackman‘s daughters, Elizabeth and Leslie Hackman, and granddaughter Annie are “devastated by the loss” of the iconic actor.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us he was always just Dad and Grandpa. We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss,” daughters Elizabeth Hackman, Leslie Hackman and granddaughter Annie Hackman shared in a statement to PEOPLE.

Hackman, 95, and his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, were found dead in their Santa Fe, New Mexico home. The cause of their deaths is now part of an active police investigation and has been described by a Santa Fe detective as “suspicious” according to a new TMZ report.

Hackman was a legendary screen actor with roles in The French Connection, Superman and The Royal Tenenbaums. His wife Arakawa was a classical pianist.

The pair married in 1991. Hackman shared three children with his first wife Faye Maltese — Christopher Allen Hackman, 63, Elizabeth Jean Hackman, 61, and Leslie Ann Hackman, 57.

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Hackman’s legacy is also being remembered by famous costars, including Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

“There was no finer actor than Gene. Intense and instinctive. Never a false note,” Eastwood, 94, who directed and starred opposite Hackman in the 1992 Western Unforgiven, shared in a Feb. 27 statement. “He was also a dear friend whom I will miss very much,” he added.

Freeman also starred in Unforgiven and worked again with Hackman on the 2000 film Under Suspicion. Freeman, 87, wrote on Instagram, “One of the personal highlights of my career was bringing the French Film Gardé a Vue (Under Suspicion) to life with the incredibly gifted Gene Hackman. And of course… Unforgiven. Rest in peace, my friend.”