X-Men star James McAvoy is mourning the death of his mother after she passed away during a long battle with illness.
Liz Johnstone, 59, died at the council flat that McAvoy and his actress sister Joy grew up in, on an estate in the Drumchapel area of Glasgow.
Ms Johnston had suffered ill health for some years and her death is being treated as ‘non suspicious’ by Police Scotland.
X-Men star James McAvoy is mourning the death of his mother Liz Johnstone after she passed from a long battle with illness
McAvoy, 38, remained close to his mother and his humble beginnings, despite his rise to a Hollywood stardom and would often visit his family.
However, the Atonement actor cut ties with his father, also called James, and has not spoken to him since he was seven years old.
Speaking to the Mail in 2008, McAvoy’s roofer father said his son used to be a ‘real daddy’s boy’ but refused contact after his parents divorced and James Snr found a new lover.
McAvoy with his mother and ex-wife Anne-Marie Duff at the Venice Film Festival in 2007
McAvoy Snr said: ‘Our son took it hard. He just wasn’t the carefree little boy he’d been before.
‘I think James still had hopes of me and his mum sorting things out.
‘It has been hard on me not being in his life, but I’m just glad that he seems happy.
‘I hope one day he’ll get in touch. I was amazed he’d done so well.’
While her successful son enjoyed the trappings of life on the big screen, Ms Johnstone shunned the limelight and remained in their local community.
McAvoy shot to fame after starring in Channel 4 drama Shameless and went on to land big roles in The Last King of Scotland, the X-Men franchise and psychological drama Split
McAvoy, left and right, with his actress sister Joy at the BAFTAs in 2017, has remained close to his family – despite his rise to Hollywood stardom
A local source told the Daily Record: ‘Liz had health troubles and faced up to them as well as possible but it meant she really kept herself to herself. James became estranged from his dad but he was supportive of his mother.
‘She had no desire to change her life on the back of his fame. She wished to stay in Drumchapel and that’s what she did.’
Ms Johnstone, a psychiatric nurse, died on January 18. Police said a report into her death will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
McAvoy shot to fame after starring in Channel 4 drama Shameless and went on to land big roles in The Last King of Scotland, the X-Men franchise and psychological drama Split.
He divorced from actress Anne-Marie Duff, who made her name alongside him in Shameless, in 2016. The couple share a son Brendan, born in 2010.