Guy Pearce has confirmed the loss of his beloved mother, Anne Cocking, following a 13-year battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Announcing the news on X, formerly known as Twitter, the actor penned a heartbreaking message. It read: "Lost my beautiful Mum today. 'Kicked the bucket' as she would say.
"What a sharp, fierce & witty woman Anne was, until Alzheimer's struck in 2010. It's been a long & winding road. A fitting song 4 ur departure Mum. Tracy & I will miss u enormously. We'll always love u XX"
Sharing several throwback photos to commemorate his mother, Guy chose a joyful snap from his parent's wedding day, and he also posted a few of himself smiling alongside his mother, and his older sister, Tracy.
Shortly after confirming his loss, Guy was inundated with support from fans. "So sorry for your loss, Guy. Sending you all the best," replied one. "Sorry for your loss. RIP to your lovely mum... sending lots of love and big hugs to you and your family…" added another.
Meanwhile, a third penned: "Condolences to you and your family Guy. Losing your mum is surreal, like your greatest fan just left. It hurts a lot but then the bursts of memory come, your story makes sense again. The love never leaves."
Guy has previously opened up about his close bond with his mother, Anne. The actor's father, Stuart Pearce, was tragically killed in a plane crash when Guy was just eight years old, so he was primarily raised by his mum.
Speaking to The Times in November 2022, Guy also explained that he helped his mum raise his older sister, Tracy, who was diagnosed with Cornelia de Lange syndrome – a rare genetic disorder present from birth which results in physical, cognitive, and medical challenges.
"A big part of why I never wanted to have children was because I helped raise my sister – I have a sister with an intellectual disability – so I felt like I'd done my parenting," he said last year. "For a long time, I definitely knew I was never going to have kids. It was quite definite."
While Guy went on to welcome his son Monte with Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten in 2016, his role as a father has still come as a surprise.
© Shutterstock"I am just besotted with my child. I mean, it's ridiculous, although it took a while for me to actually believe that my child was really my child," he told the publication. "It's a sort of slow turning around of the ship. Even though my body was kind of going, 'You're my child and I just want to hold you close,' my brain was going, 'No, you don't have a child.' I was like, 'Yeah, but I do'. My brain is going, 'No, you decided years ago you were never going to have a child.'"
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Reflecting on his own childhood, Guy has also credited Anne – who worked as a teacher – with helping to inspire his love of acting. In 2009, he told Mail Online: "I loved going to the theatre with my mum. I was completely awestruck that the actors could have such an effect on the audience and make them think that they were smart and funny. I decided to start doing that myself."
While Guy has fond memories of his mother, he has also spoken about her struggles with Alzheimer's. In 2017, the 55-year-old tweeted a childhood photo alongside Anne, as well as some prose.
The caption read: "A wonderful piece of writing my beautiful Mother gave me many years ago. Sadly her Alzheimer's means she doesn't know me anymore. However, I know I'll carry her wisdom with me forever....."
