International actor George Clooney said goodbye to his older sister, Adelia “Ada” Ziedler, who died at the age of 65.
Ada passed away on Friday, December 19, after a long struggle with cancer. She died surrounded by her loved ones at St. Elizabeth Healthcare Hospital in the US state of Kentucky, and the funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, December 22, 2025.
George Clooney confirmed the news of his death on Saturday through a touching statement in which he said: “My sister Ada was my hero. She faced cancer with courage and a sense of humor. I have never met a brave person like her. Amal and I will miss her greatly.”
Adelia was born on May 2, 1960 in Los Angeles to her father, Nick, and her mother, Nina. She was known for her outstanding artistic talent.
She worked as an art teacher at Augusta Independent Elementary School for many years, where she shared her skills with younger generations, while her academic achievements in high school were so outstanding that they qualified her to become a National Merit Scholar.
The two brothers grew up in Kentucky and shared a close relationship since childhood, as they played together constantly. Their mother, Nina, told a funny story in an interview in 2006, saying: “I returned from work one day to find George, our daughter, and several friends holding a party in a room in the house. They were licking a side of marshmallows and throwing them at each other, and when I entered, I found marshmallows stuck everywhere in the room.”
Clooney previously spoke about his upbringing in a small town in Kentucky, saying in 2019: “Everything we see on the news about people abusing each other does not exist there. They must coexist. I was really lucky to be raised in a small town like that,” and he added, expressing his closeness to his sister, “I am very close to my sister.”
