Adelia “Ada” Zeidler died “surrounded by the people she loved” on Dec. 19.

George Clooney pays tribute to late sister after she dies of cancer at 65: ‘I’ve never met anyone so brave’

Adelia "Ada" Zeidler died "surrounded by the people she loved" on Dec. 19.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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December 21, 2025 1:54 p.m. ET

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George Clooney's sister, Adelia 'Ada' Zeidler; George Clooney. Credit:

mhfuneralhome; JB Lacroix/FilmMagic

George Clooney has penned an emotional tribute to his sister, Adelia "Ada" Zeidler, after her death from cancer at the age of 65 on Friday.

"My sister, Ada, was my hero," Clooney told PEOPLE the following day. "She faced down cancer with courage and humor. I've never met anyone so brave. Amal [my wife] and I will miss her terribly."

Zeidler's official obituary noted that she "died peacefully surrounded by the people she loved" at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Ky.**

Adelia 'Ada' Zeidler on her wedding day.

Zeidler was born on May 2, 1960, a year before Clooney, to their parents, Nick Clooney and Nina Bruce Warren, in Los Angeles. Clooney and Zeidler's mother was a beauty queen–turned–city councilwoman, while their father worked as a news anchor. Clooney, too, took a shine to the camera and the pageantry of Hollywood, but Zeidler blazed her own trail.

She worked for many years as an elementary art teacher at Augusta Independent School, just over an hour's drive from her brother's birthplace of Lexington, Ky. Zeidler was an artist in her own right, serving as a member of the Augusta Art Guild and one time leading the town's Annual White Christmas Parade as the grand marshal.

Zeidler was a high achiever in school, resulting in her designation as a National Merit Scholar. On March 14, 1987, she married retired Army Captain Norman Zeidler. He later died from a heart attack in 2004.**

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Reflecting on her close bond with her younger brother despite their different lifestyles, Zeidler said in a rare 2012 interview, "I think [George] decided that in his life he could have the career or he could have a family. And so … he decided to go full bore into the acting. That was where his focus was going to be."

"There is a part of me that would very much like to have become a famous actress or something like that," she added. However, while she professed to "enjoy acting," she admitted, "I did not have a thick enough skin for it."**

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Zeidler is survived by her brother, George; her two children, Nick Zeidler and Allison Zeidler Herolaga; and several uncles, aunts, and cousins.****

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