Ben Affleck’s mother Chris dies at 83 after pancreatic cancer diagnosis

Ben Affleck‘s mother has died at 83. Chris Affleck, the mom of actors and filmmakers Ben and Casey Affleck, died on June 2nd. Her family confirmed the news.

Chris Affleck was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, reports The Hollywood Reporter. According to an obituary provided by the outlet, she was given 6 months to live and achieved one of her milestones. 

As reported by the obituary, Chris’ wish after her diagnosis was to see her grandson graduate from high school. “She did so, attending with her family on May 31, 2026. She died peacefully, in her sleep, two days later,” it reads.

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Chris was a graduate of Harvard University and worked as a public school teacher for 35 years. She retired in 2008 and continued to pursue her passion as a civil rights advocate. She married Timothy Affleck, with the two sharing two sons throughout their marriage: Ben and Casey. The couple divorced when their sons were teenagers.

“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,” said Ben in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. “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.”

Ben and his sweet relationship with his mom

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As Ben’s career took off, his mother was one of his biggest supporters. In 1998, following Ben and Matt Damon’s Oscar nomination for the film “Good Will Hunting,” the two attended the awards with their mothers as their dates. The pair went on to win the Oscar, launching their careers. 

“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,” Ben told Vanity Fair. “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?”

Chris is survived by her sons and her grandchildren: Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin, and Sam.

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