Ben Affleck’s mother dies two days after fulfilling final wish

The mother of Oscar-winning brothers Ben and Casey Affleck has died aged 83, just two days after fulfilling her final wish to watch one of her grandchildren graduate from high school.

Christopher Anne “Chris” Affleck died in early June, six months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December 2025, according to an obituary published by her family.

Her final wish was to watch the graduation of her grandson Atticus. “She did so, attending with her family on May 31, 2026. She died peacefully, in her sleep, two days later,” the obituary shared. 

Born Christopher Anne Boldt in New York City in 1942, Affleck attended Radcliffe College, becoming one of the early generations of Radcliffe women to receive Harvard diplomas.

She later earned a master’s degree and spent 35 years teaching in public schools before retiring in 2008.

Long before her sons became Hollywood stars, Affleck was also involved in political and civil rights causes.

Influenced by her stepfather, Sam, she taught literacy classes in Mississippi during the 1964 Freedom Summer campaign.

She and former husband Timothy Affleck welcomed Ben in 1972 and Casey in 1975. The couple later divorced when Ben was around 12.

Affleck raised the brothers in Massachusetts and was a strong supporter of their interest in acting.

Ben has previously credited his mother with helping him enter the industry after she connected him with casting director Patty Collinge, her former Harvard roommate.

“A friend of my mom’s was a casting director, so really as kind of a lark, I had a couple of acting jobs,” he told Parade in 2007.

Ben was accompanied by his mum at the 1998 Academy Awards, where he and childhood friend Matt Damon won best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting. Damon also brought his mother to the ceremony.

“We were sitting next to our moms and we won, and we kind of hugged our moms,” Ben recalled in a 2023 interview with Vanity Fair.  

“There was nobody else that was going to go. That was it. Of course, our moms were gonna go.”

Ben would go on to earn a second Academy Award when Argo was named best picture in 2013, while Casey won best actor for his performance in Manchester by the Sea in 2017.

“Chris was suitably proud of her descendants’ achievements, but she was delighted when they questioned, defied, or cleverly engaged authority,” the obituary read.

After retiring from teaching, Affleck volunteered during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign and became involved with the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine following a visit to the region in 2009.

Affleck is survived by Ben and Casey, as well as her five grandchildren: Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam, who, the obituary noted, “were the animating force of her last two decades.”