Tom Cruise: Superstar’s Mother Dead At 80

The mother of superstar Tom Cruise has passed away at the age of 80 — with Mary Lee South reportedly dying in her sleep. Her death had been hidden until after a secret memorial service at a local Church of Scientology. Tom attended the service, along with his three sisters. She had divorced Tom's father, Thomas Cruise Mapother III, in 1974.

Mary Lee later married WWII veteran Jack South, later crediting her husband for helping to support Tom's showbiz ambitions, saying: “We both felt it was a God-given talent.” But, as reported by The National ENQUIRER, her movie-star son still missed her final Mother's Day in 2016!

A series of alarming photos obtained exclusively by The ENQUIRER showed a wheelchair-bound Mary Lee on the family boat trip for Mother’s Day, with her son nowhere to be seen! “It’s stunning that someone who had been so close to his mother growing up could not be there for her when she’s doing so poorly — especially on Mother’s Day,” a spy reported.

Instead, Tom’s adopted son, Connor (at left), arranged the May 8 cruise off Clearwater, Fla., sources said. It was also the first time that Mary Lee had been photographed out and about in seven years! As The ENQUIRER reported, sources had “raised serious concerns about her well-being” — with Mary Lee having been moved from an assisted-living home in Los Angeles to her new place in Florida, not far from the Scientology Flag Service Organization Retreat. Insiders had told The ENQUIRER that the former special education teacher had been battling health issues in recent years.