George Clooney mourns sister Ada Zeidler as she loses her cancer battle

Beloved Hollywood actor George Clooney's older sister Adelia Zeidler passed away on Friday, December 19.

George Clooney calls late sister Ada Zeidler ‘My Hero’

Adelia “Ada” Zeidler, Clooney’s older sister, died on December 19 after a battle with cancer. She was 65. Clooney called her “my hero,” a word he doesn’t use lightly, and spoke of her courage with a tenderness rarely seen from one of Hollywood’s most carefully composed stars.

Ada was never part of the Clooney brand. She didn’t chase cameras or red carpets. While her brother built a global career, she chose a quieter life in Augusta, Kentucky, teaching art to children, nurturing local creative circles, and becoming one of those rare figures a town quietly leans on without making a fuss.

Clooney reacted to the news and told an entertainment portal, "My sister, Ada, was my hero. She faced cancer with courage and humour. I’ve never met anyone so brave.” He added, “Amal and I will miss her terribly.”

Born into a media-savvy family (their father Nick Clooney is a respected journalist) Ada could have leaned into visibility but she opted out of that. Friends and former students remember her less for ambition and more for patience: the kind of teacher who stayed late, who noticed, who listened.

That privacy was held until the end. Her illness was largely kept out of public view, and even now, the family’s statements resist drama. Clooney spoke of humour alongside bravery, suggesting a woman who faced the most unforgiving diagnosis without surrendering her wit. Cancer may have altered her body, but not her temperament.

Ada is survived by her children, her parents, and her brother, along with George Clooney’s wife Amal, whom Ada was close to. She appeared publicly only on rare occasions most notably at George and Amal’s wedding in Venice in 2014, a reminder that she was always present.

A funeral mass will be held in Kentucky, the place she called home. The family has asked for donations to a local library instead of flowers, a detail that feels perfectly on brand.

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