Christopher Anne “Chris” Affleck, mother of Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, died of cardiopulmonary arrest at 83, brought on by pancreatic cancer.
A death certificate obtained by Us Weekly confirmed that only days after Chris died on June 2 while visiting one of her sons’ homes.
“Her greatest wish after her diagnosis, however, was to live to see her grandson graduate high school,” her obituary published by The Boston Globe read. “She did so, attending with her family on May 31, 2026. She died peacefully, in her sleep, two days later.”
The obituary revealed that doctors had given her six months to live in December 2025, following her diagnosis. She lived several months beyond that initial prognosis before dying in June.
While many knew her as the mother of two Oscar-winning actors, Chris built a distinguished life of her own as an educator and activist.
“Chris taught literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer, marched against the Vietnam War and reveled in 1960s counterculture,” it read. “One of the first Radcliffe women to receive a Harvard diploma, she eschewed a world of higher-paying careers to spend 35 years as a public school teacher.”
Ben and Casey have long been open about their closeness with their mother. Chris attended the 1998 Academy Awards with Ben Affleck and his longtime friend and collaborator Matt Damon, sitting alongside Damon’s mother.
When the duo won the Oscar for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting, a film that also starred Casey, Ben thanked his mother during the acceptance speech, saying that she and Matt’s mother were “the most beautiful women” there.
The Gone Girl actor later recounted the moment as he spoke to Vanity Fair. “We were sitting next to our moms and we won and we kind of hugged our moms. I remember how everyone had made such a big thing out of it as if this was such a novelty,” he said.
He continued, “I remember thinking, being insecure, like, ‘Why? Why is it weird that we’re bringing our moms?’ Who else do you think we would bring?”
Ben and Casey have built parallel careers in Hollywood since childhood, both earning several awards over the course of their careers. Casey won best actor for his role in Manchester by the Sea, while Ben has won two Oscars for screenwriting and producing.
Chris is survived by her two sons and her five grandchildren, according to the obituary.
“Her favorite young people, however, were her sons, Benjamin Géza (b.1972) and Caleb Casey (b.1975). Her five grandchildren, Indiana (2004), Violet (2005), Atticus (2008), Fin (2009) and Sam (2012), were the animating force of her last two decades,” it read.
According to the obituary, Chris valued not only her family’s achievements but also their willingness to think independently, challenge authority and stand up for what they believed in.