PEOPLE can confirm that the actor’s older sibling died from cancer on Friday, Dec. 19.<\/p>\n
“My sister, Ada, was my hero,” Clooney tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “She faced down cancer with courage and humor. I\u2019ve never met anyone so brave. Amal and I will miss her terribly.”<\/p>\n
According to her obituary, Ada \u2014 of Augusta, Ky. \u2014 died “peacefully surrounded by the people she loved” at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Ky.<\/p>\n
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George Clooney’s sister, Adelia ‘Ada’ Zeidler.<\/p>\n
Ada, who was named after her great-grandmother, was born in Los Angeles on May 2, 1960, to journalist and TV host Nick Clooney and writer Nina Bruce Warren<\/a>.<\/p>\n “A talented artist, she shared her skills as an elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School for several years,” her obituary states. “In high school, her academic achievements qualified her to be a National Merit Scholar. Her love for reading connected her with other readers in a local book club. She was also a member of the Augusta Art Guild and was a past grand marshal of Augusta\u2019s Annual White Christmas Parade.”<\/p>\n Ada later attended college in Louisville and Northern Kentucky and worked as a bookkeeper.<\/p>\n She married Norman Zeidler, a retired army captain, in Augusta on March 14, 1987. The whole family \u2014 and much of their small Kentucky hometown \u2014 were in attendance and took part in the ceremony, per the\u00a0Kentucky Photo Archive<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ernesto Ruscio\/GC Images<\/p>\n George Clooney and sister Adelia ‘Ada’ Zeidler in Venice, Italy, in 2014<\/p>\n During the wedding, George read scripture, and the siblings’ aunt Rosemary Clooney<\/a> sang a romantic song for the newlyweds. “The whole town helped with the wedding. We couldn’t have gotten through it without them,” the siblings’ mother, Nina, once said.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer\u200b\u200b, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Although Ada maintained a private life and didn’t often make public appearances, she attended her brother’s wedding to wife Amal Clooney<\/a> in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 27, 2014.<\/p>\n Robino Salvatore\/GC Images<\/p>\n George Clooney and sister Adelia ‘Ada’ Zeidler in Venice, Italy, in 2014<\/p>\n Ada was preceded in death by her husband, who died on Oct. 11, 2004, of a heart attack.<\/p>\n “In addition to her parents, she leaves behind her beloved children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga and her husband, Kenny; her brother, George Clooney and his wife, Amal; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins,” the obituary concludes.<\/p>\n A funeral will be held for Ada on Monday, Dec. 22, and her obituary states that memorials are suggested to the Knoedler Memorial Library in Augusta.<\/p>\n![\"Ernesto](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/c774343473e47e534c7fd146ca9f6097.jpeg\"\/)
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