Ben Affleck Opens Up About Losing Both Parents This Year: "This Woman Had Her Own Whole Life"

Ben Affleck is opening up for the first time about an incredibly hard year. On Kerry Washington’s“Street You Grew Up On”podcast, the actor revealed that both of his parents died in 2026. His mother, Chris Anne Affleck, passed away June 2 at age 83 after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. His father, Timothy, died in April at 76; his brother Casey confirmed the news while at the Venice International Film Festival.

What really resonated with listeners was how Ben described reading letters his mother wrote when she was a young woman, years before he was born. He said it hit him that she had an entire life for thirty years that had nothing to do with him. Chris Anne taught in public schools for 35 years before retiring in 2008, and raised Ben and Casey in Cambridge, Massachusetts, after she and Timothy divorced in 1984.

It’s a rare, vulnerable moment from one of Hollywood’s most private stars, and it’s sparking conversations about grief, aging parents, and the way we often see our moms and dads only through the lens of parenthood. Have you ever discovered something about your parents’life before you that completely changed how you saw them? Tell us in the comments.