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Cory Monteith’s mother has passed away just days before the twelfth anniversary of her “Glee” star son’s death.
Ann Marie McGregor died “peacefully” on June 18 following an unspecified illness, according to her obituary. She was 74.
“Ann enjoyed her time gardening, along with her artistic pursuits on her acreage in Shirley, BC, together with Cornelius, Harley and her love birds,” her obit read. “Ann was a person of strong character and she carried that throughout her life.”
Besides Cory, McGregor was predeceased by her parents. She is survived by her son and Cory’s older brother, Shaun Monteith.
McGregor’s passing also comes just over a month after the late “Glee” star’s father, Joe Monteith, died on May 12 following a serious illness. He was 75.
Joe and McGregor had divorced in 1989, and he and Cory were estranged for most of the young actor’s life.
“It is with great sadness that the family of Joseph Allan Monteith announces his passing on Monday, May 12, 2025, at the age of 75,” Joe’s obituary read. “His love and positive outlook on life will be missed by all of us.”
Joe is survived by his second wife, Yvette Monteith, and his only remaining child with McGregor, Shaun.
The death of Cory’s parents came nearly twelve years after the “Glee” star passed away on July 13, 2013, after an accidental drug overdose at 31.
Both his parents spoke out in the wake of the actor’s shocking death, and his mom claimed that Cory turned to drugs because he “wasn’t ready for the Hollywood world.”
“Drugs were his way of checking out,” she told People in 2018. “Cory didn’t want to die. There is no doubt about that.”
“He called that world plastic,” she added at the time. “It was too superficial for him. He was just too grounded, and his heart was too intact. He couldn’t become hard enough.”
McGregor also lamented that her famous son still had his whole life ahead of him.
“Cory was such a loving and genuine person. And the best part of his life was still ahead,” she said.
“He wanted a wife and kids. He would have made a beautiful father. He had accomplished so much. He was ready to step out of Hollywood and really live. He had so much to look forward to,” Cory’s mom concluded.
As for Cory’s father, he said that the “Glee” star “should have known not to touch” the heroin that ultimately took his life. The coroner’s report found that Cory died from a lethal combination of alcohol and heroin.
“It’s just ripping my insides out and tearing me apart,” Joe told People shortly after his estranged son’s death. “I don’t want to see any parent lose a child over heroin.”
Justin Neill, Cory’s former roommate, also spoke out about the late “Glee” star’s devastating death.
Neill said that Cory, who starred as high school quarterback Finn Hudson on “Glee” at its inception in 2009, struggled with the fame the Fox musical comedy brought him.
“By the end of the second season, he didn’t have his private time and he was probably one of the most private people I knew,” he told the Post in 2023. “And now it’s like everybody wants to know everything about him.”
“There did definitely get to a point where he was burned out,” Neill added.
English (US)