Heartbreak for Ben Affleck as beloved mother dies aged 83

Chris Anne Affleck, the mother of actors Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck, has died, her family announced. 

Chris, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December, passed away on 2 June at the age of 83. 

A Harvard-educated native New Yorker, Chris dedicated 35 years to teaching in public schools. She shared her two sons, Oscar winners Ben and Casey, with her former husband, Timothy Affleck. Ben was born in 1972, followed by Casey's arrival in 1975. Around this time, the family relocated from California to Massachusetts.

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Ben was 12 when his parents, Chris and Timothy, divorced – a separation he described as "painful" during an interview with PEOPLE. 

Reflecting on his upbringing in a 2006 interview with Boston Magazine, Casey recalled how his mother prioritised family traditions. "She always made us go on family vacations," he told Boston Magazine. "When you're a kid, you just want to stay home and hang out with your friends. You don’t want to go to your grandparents' house. But tradition meant a lot to her. She just insisted. We had a lot of fights about that. But now I love it and those are some of my favorite memories."

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Chris had been a pillar of support for her sons throughout their careers and attended the 1998 Oscars alongside Ben and his longtime friend Matt Damon, who also brought his mother to the ceremony, after the pair were nominated for best original screenplay for Good Will Hunting — in which Casey also starred. 

Reflecting on the moment they won the award, Ben told Vanity Fair: "We were sitting next to our moms and we won, and we kind of hugged our moms. I remember how everyone had made such a big thing out of it as if this was such a novelty.

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"I remember thinking, being insecure, like, 'Why? Why is it weird that we’re bringing our moms?' Who else do you think we would bring?"

Chris' cancer diagnosis 

In December last year, Chris was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and given six months to live. 

Her greatest wish after her diagnosis was seeing grandson Atticus graduate high school, her family said. She attended the event with her family on May 31 and died peacefully in her sleep two days later.

Chris is survived by her two sons, as well as five grandchildren: Casey's children, Atticus and Indiana, and Ben's kids, Violet, Fin and Sam.