Chris Anne Affleck, Mother of Actors Ben and Casey Affleck, Dies at 83

Christopher Anne Affleck, the mother of acclaimed actors Ben and Casey Affleck, passed away on June 2 at age 83, according to an obituary published Friday in The Boston Globe. She died peacefully in her sleep following a pancreatic cancer diagnosis she received in December 2025.

Affleck had been given six months to live upon her diagnosis, but fulfilled what she described as her greatest wish: witnessing her grandson graduate from high school. She attended the May 31, 2026 ceremony with her family before passing away two days later.

Born in New York City in 1942, Affleck was a pioneering activist and educator who taught literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, protested the Vietnam War and became one of the first Radcliffe women to graduate from Harvard. She spent 35 years as a public school teacher, retiring in 2008.

Following her retirement, Affleck volunteered for President Barack Obama’s campaign and became an organizer for the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine. She also traveled extensively to Israel and Palestine.

Both Ben and Casey credited their parents with fostering their early interest in the arts. Ben won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 1998 alongside Matt Damon for “Good Will Hunting,” bringing his mother as his date to the ceremony.

Affleck is survived by her five grandchildren: Casey’s children Indiana and Atticus, and Ben’s children Violet, Fin and Sam. She was previously married to Timothy Affleck, with whom she had Ben in 1972 and Casey in 1975 before divorcing in 1984.