Oscar winner Ben and Casey Affleck’s mother Chris Anne died on June 2 at the age of 83. The family announced her passing on July 23. Chris Anne had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December.
While an official cause of death of Chris Anne was not listed in the obituary, it was made clear that she was given six months to live in December 2025, after her diagnosis. She then passed away in June – six months from her diagnosis.
Who was Chris Anne?
Chris Anne Boldt was born in New York City in December 1942. She graduated from Harvard University and spent 35 years as a public school teacher. Chris Anne retired in 2008 and was a fierce civil rights advocate all her life. She was one of the original freedom riders who went to the Deep South in the 1960s.
She and her ex-husband Timothy Affleck welcomed Ben Affleck in 1972. Casey Affleck was born in 1975 and the family moved to Massachusetts around the time, as Chris Anne continued her teaching career.
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By the time Ben Affleck was 12, his parents had split up. Speaking about Chris Anne and his father, Affleck had told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012, “My mother taught public school, went to Harvard and then got her master’s there and taught fifth and sixth grade in a public school. My dad had a more working-class lifestyle. He didn’t go to college. He was an auto mechanic and a bartender and a janitor at Harvard.”
Chris Anne had a part to play in Affleck’s Hollywood success. She used her Harvard contact to get her son connected to casting director Patty Collins, who used to be Chris Anne’s roommate. She is the one who helped Affleck audition for commercials and TV movies.
Chris Anne supported both her sons’ acting careers and even went as Ben Affleck’s date to the 1998 Oscars, where he and Matt Damon won for Good Will Hunting, which also starred Casey Affleck. Ben Affleck went on to win another Oscar for Argo, while Casey got his Oscar for Manchester by the Sea.
“Her greatest wish after her diagnosis, however, was to live to see her grandson graduate high school. She did so, attending with her family on May 31, 2026. She died peacefully, in her sleep, two days later,” the Affleck family said about Chris Anne.
Apart from her sons, Chris Anne is survived by five grandchildren. They include Casey’s kids, Atticus and Indiana, and Ben’s kids, Violet, Fin and Sam.
Chris Anne net worth
Chris Anne is a private individual and her net worth is not a matter of public record. However, given by reports on how much a public school teacher in Massachusetts would make over the years, Chris Anne’s net worth can be estimated to be north of a million dollars. However, this is merely a ballpark estimate and not indicative of her actual net worth.