By Zoe Papadakis | Monday, December 22, 2025
Ada Zeidler, the older sister of actor George Clooney and a longtime elementary school art teacher in northern Kentucky, has died at age 65. She passed away from cancer on Friday, according to her obituary, which noted she died “peacefully surrounded by the people she loved” at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in Edgewood, Kentucky.
In a statement shared with People, George Clooney described his sister: “My sister, Ada, was my hero. She faced down cancer with courage and humor. I’ve never met anyone so brave.” He added that he and his wife, Amal Alamuddin, will miss her terribly.
Born May 2, 1960, in Los Angeles to Nick Clooney and Nina Bruce Warren, Zeidler was one year younger than her brother. Her mother was a former beauty queen who later served as a city councilwoman, while her father worked as a TV news anchor. While George Clooney pursued acting, Zeidler built a life centered on education, art, and community engagement.
She taught elementary art at Augusta Independent School in Augusta, Kentucky, for many years and was active in the local arts scene. Zeidler served as grand marshal of Augusta’s White Christmas Parade and was a member of the Augusta Art Guild. A National Merit Scholar during high school, she also participated in a local book club.
On March 14, 1987, she married retired Army Capt. Norman Zeidler, who died of a heart attack in 2004. Though she avoided the public spotlight, Zeidler occasionally reflected on her relationship with George Clooney. In a 2012 interview, she explained: “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.” She also shared that she once considered a similar career but ultimately chose otherwise: “There is a part of me that would very much like to have become a famous actress or something like that,” she said, adding, “I did not have a thick enough skin for it.”
Zeidler attended George Clooney’s wedding to Amal Alamuddin in Venice, Italy, on September 27, 2014. A funeral service is scheduled for Monday, with memorial contributions suggested to the Knoedler Memorial Library in Augusta.
