Tom Cruise’s mother Mary Lee South dies aged 80
The Hollywood actor’s mother reportedly died ‘peacefully in her sleep’ last week following ‘health problems’ and, according to People, a memorial service was held at her local Church of Scientology over the weekend.
The US gossip site reports that Tom, 54, and his sisters, Lee Ann DeVette, 57, Cass Mapother, 55, and Marian Henry, 52, all attended the ceremony, as well as close friends and family members.
Mary split from Tom’s father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, in 1974, going on to marry John ‘Jack’ South in 1978, when Tom was 16.
However, Mary and John divorced in 2012, with him passing away in 2015 following a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Mary, who had a very close relationship with Tom, has previously spoken of how Tom dreamed of becoming an actor after he starred in a high school production of Guys and Dolls.
In fact, a knee injury had prevented Tom from his varsity wrestling career, which is when Mary Lee had suggested he try out for a role in the play.
She said: ‘After the show, Tom came home and said he wanted to have a talk with my husband and me.
‘He asked for 10 years to give showbusiness a try. Meanwhile, my husband’s thinking, “What’s this gonna cost me? 10 years of what?”
‘Tom said, “I really feel that this is what I want to do.”
‘And we both wholeheartedly agreed, because we both felt it was a God-given talent, and he should explore it because he was so enthused about it.
‘So to make a long story short, we gave him our blessing and the rest is history.’
Mary moved from Los Angeles to Clearwater, Florida, last year, which is situated close to the worldwide headquarters for Scientology.
She was pictured for the first time in seven years last year in Florida on a Mother’s Day outing.
Source: http://metro.co.uk/2017/02/13/tom-cruises-mother-mary-lee-south-dies-aged-80-6446710/
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