Clint Eastwood's longtime partner, Christina Sandera, dies aged 61

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Christina Sandera, the longtime partner of Oscar-winning actor and director Clint Eastwood, has died. She was 61.

Eastwood, 94, announced her death, saying in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter: “Christina was a lovely, caring woman, and I will miss her very much.”

No other information about her death was released.

Sandera and Eastwood had been dating for a decade up until her death. They reportedly met while she was working as a hostess at the actor’s Mission Ranch Hotel and Restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The Million Dollar Baby star is the former mayor of the Northern California city.

She was a longtime Carmel resident, whom Eastwood began dating in 2014 following the divorce from his second wife, TV news anchor Dina Eastwood. He was previously married to model Maggie Johnson from 1953 to 1984.

Eastwood had other long-term relationships in between. He dated stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis, the late actor Sondra Locke (they were domestic partners for 14 years and starred in four movies together), flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves and actor Frances Fisher (they were together for five years and co-starred in four films).

Sandera and Eastwood remained quiet about their relationship. She did, however, attend the Oscars with Eastwood in 2015, when his war movie American Sniper was in contention for six Oscars including Best Picture.

She also joined the Gran Torino actor on several red carpets: Sully (2016), The Mule (2018), The 15:17 to Paris (2018) and Richard Jewell (2019).

Eastwood recently completed directing his 40th movie, Juror No 2. He first announced the project in April 2023.

Starring Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Zoey Deutsch and JK Simmons, Juror No 2 tells the story of a family man (Hoult), who, while serving as a juror in a high-profile murder trial, discovers he may have played a role in the victim’s death.

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Juror No 2 marks Eastwood’s return to the director’s chair, following a three-year hiatus after his 2021 western thriller, Cry Macho, in which he also starred alongside Fernanda Urrejola, Natalia Traven and Dwight Yoakam.

Speaking in a 2014 interview with The Associated Press about his career longevity, Eastwood said: “There are so many different stories to tell out there.

“You can be 21 or 81. ... If you tell yourself, ‘I’m too old to do that’ – bulls***. You’re not too old to do anything.”