Tom Cruise's mother has passed away at age 80

— -- Tom Cruise's mother, Mary Lee South, has died, a representative for Cruise confirmed to ABC News.

According to People, South died peacefully in her sleep last week. The magazine reports she has dealt with health issues in recent years, and a memorial service was held in her honor at her local Church of Scientology this past weekend. Cruise attended the memorial along with his sisters, Lee Ann DeVette, Cass Mapother and Marian Henry, People said.

Cruise was close with his mother throughout his life, People reported, and she encouraged him to participate in a local theater group when he was a child. She continued to support his acting career into adulthood, and told Rolling Stone magazine in 1986 that she thought it was a "God-given talent."

"To make a long story short, we gave him our blessing," she said. "And the rest is history."

South was 80 years old.