Ben and Casey Affleck’s Mother Chris Anne Affleck Dies at 83 After Pancreatic Cancer Battle

Chris Anne Affleck, the mother of actors Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, has died at the age of 83. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on June 2 after a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in December that had given her roughly six months.

Born Christopher Anne Boldt in New York City in 1942, she made her unusual first name her own from the start. She was one of the first Radcliffe women to earn a Harvard diploma and chose a life of teaching over higher paying paths. For 35 years she taught fifth and sixth grade in public schools before retiring in 2008. Every student in her classroom, no matter their background, was treated as an equal.

Her commitment to justice ran deep. Influenced by her stepfather Sam, she taught literacy classes in Mississippi during Freedom Summer in 1964 and later marched against the Vietnam War. After retirement she volunteered on Barack Obama’s campaign, organized with the Alliance for Water Justice in Palestine, and served on the board of the Sustainable Cape project in her home of Truro, Massachusetts. When her granddaughter’s student activist group needed a place to meet, she opened her home and sat through every workshop taking notes.

She and Timothy Affleck raised two sons, Ben born in 1972 and Casey in 1975, before divorcing when Ben was about twelve. Both boys have spoken of her steady support as they found their way into acting. Ben once recalled how a friend of hers who worked as a casting director opened the first door for him almost as a lark. Casey described her as really supportive of their early efforts. She sat beside Ben and Matt Damon at the 1998 Oscars when they won for Good Will Hunting, hugging her son as the moment unfolded in a way that felt simple and unforced.

Her five grandchildren Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam became the center of her later years. After her diagnosis her greatest wish was to see Atticus graduate high school. She made it, attending the ceremony with her family on May 31. Two days later she was gone.

The family shared the news through a Boston Globe obituary that captured her spirit well. She was proud of her children’s and grandchildren’s achievements, yet happiest when they questioned or cleverly pushed against authority.