More heartache for Julia Roberts as her mother 'dies aged 80 after losing battle to lung cancer'... one year after sister's suicide
Julia Roberts' mother passed away in the early hours of Thursday morning, according to a report.
Betty Lou Motes was 80-years-old and was battling lung cancer at the time of her death, according to In Touch Weekly.
Her passing comes just a year after her daughter Nancy Motes - Julia's half sister - committed suicide from a drug overdose in February last year.
Bereavement: Julia Roberts' mother Betty Lou Motes, left, has died aged 80, a year after Nancy Motes - Betty's daughter and Julia's half sister - committed suicide. Pictured together here in 1997
Dailymail.com has contacted Julia's representatives for comment.
Betty had been living at Julia's Los Angeles home, along with the Oscar-winning actress' husband Daniel Moder and their three children.
She is said to have passed away at St John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California.
Frail: Julia supporting her mother as they leave a church service in Los Angeles in April last year
Helping hand: Julia pictured with her mother in March 2014 as she took her to the park with her two sons in Los Angeles
A 'cancerous tumour' was reportedly found on Betty's lung during a routine MRI scan in November 2013 but it was only revealed the following February after her daughter Nancy's tragic death.
The household Betty raised her children in was unstable and abusive due to the presence of her second husband Michael Motes, who was often unemployed.
Julia's biological father Walter Grady Roberts had tragically died of throat cancer aged 44 when she was just 10 years old.
Closely knit: Julia, pictured with Betty in 1989, stayed close with her mother over the years
Tumultuous upbringing: Julia's older brother, Runaway Train actor Eric Roberts, has given several interviews claiming their stepfather Michael Motes was abusive, pictured in New York in 1986
Walter and Betty had divorced in January 1972 and just eight months later she married Motes.
Consequently Motes was Julia's stepfather from the age of five to 16 and once Walter died in 1977 he was the only father figure in her life.
Motes was married to Julia's mother Betty for 11 years between 1972 and 1983. Betty cited 'cruel treatment' in her divorce petition and has since called their marriage 'the biggest mistake I ever made.'
Family of actors: Julia pictured with her sister Lisa and brother Eric for the premiere of his 1985 film Runaway Train with Jon Voight
Julia's older brother, Runaway Train actor Eric Roberts, has also given several interviews claiming Motes was 'abusive.'
In a past interview Eric Roberts has said: 'It was common knowledge where we grew up that Motes was a freak. He would have stood out in a crowd of ten thousand. Whether he married my mother to get close to her children or not, I don’t know. But clearly, marrying him was not a good decision or a healthy thing for her children. Our mother’s husband terrorized and abused me, and I fear he terrorized my sisters, Julia and Lisa, as well.'
Nine years older than Lisa, Eric moved out soon after Motes married Betty but he was terrified his stepdad would hurt his sisters.
Tragic: Julia's younger half sister Nancy, a former production assistant, was discovered by paramedics on the bathroom floor of an LA house on February 9 last year
Motes, a retired antique dealer, now lives with his male partner Timothy Raasch and is a volunteer minister at his local church.
Julia's younger half sister Nancy, a former production assistant, was discovered by paramedics on the bathroom floor of an LA house on February 9 last year.
Suicide was suspected after it was learned that she died of a drug overdose. She was just 37-years-old.
Family of her own: Julia pictured with husband Daniel Moder and her two children in Los Angeles in 2010
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