The actor, visibly moved, continued: “It was minutes ago that she and I were little kids together, you know. Minutes ago we were holding hands as little kids, and now, you know. So time goes fast. All of this. And so we have to find nothing but joy. Find joy in the things that are miserable.” He continued, saying, “You have to seek joy out, and you have to demand it, and you have to make sure that you demand it of yourself.” Shifting his reflection to an existential level, Clooney concluded: “Because, look, I don’t know what happens after we die. Nobody I know has yet to come back and tell me exactly how it works out. So I know this life, and for this life, then, you have to seek joy, and you have to try to find it for your family and your friends as well. That’s what I believe.”
An enduring family bond
Ada and Clooney are the children of journalist Nick Clooney and entrepreneur Nina Bruce Warren. Ada, who was a year older than her brother, led a private life far from the cameras. She worked for many years at Augusta Independent School, an elementary school in Kentucky, and was married to Norman Zeidler, who passed away in 2004; they had two children, Nick and Allison. Among Ada’s extremely rare public appearances were George and Amal Clooney’s wedding in Venice in 2014 and an interview she gave to the New York Daily News in 2012, in which she spoke about her relationship with her sibling.
“I do not have his phone number because I wouldn’t want to have it in my phone and then lose my phone. He can phone me, and he does occasionally, but the email is more convenient for both of us,” she said at the time, adding, “Sisters always want to see more of their brothers when they live a couple of thousand miles away. I always enjoy seeing him, but he’s busy. It’s his job. I’m very proud of him. He works very, very hard.”
