Ben Affleck's mother dies aged 83

Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck's mother Chris Anne Affleck has died aged 83.

The family announced the passing with an obituary shared in the Boston Globe.

Chris was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December last year, with the family confirming she "died peacefully" in her sleep on 2 June.

A graduate of Harvard University and a fierce civil rights advocate, Chris spent 35 years as a public school teacher before retiring in 2008 "to see the world and change it".

She had two sons with her ex-husband Timothy Affleck; Ben, born in 1972, followed by Casey in 1975.

Ben has spoken publicly about his mother throughout his career, and in 2012, touched upon the differences between his parents.

"My mother taught public school, went to Harvard and then got her master's there and taught fifth and sixth grade in a public school," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

"My dad had a more working-class lifestyle. He didn't go to college. He was an auto mechanic and a bartender and a janitor at Harvard."

When Ben began to develop an interest in acting, Chris contacted her former Harvard roommate, casting director Patty Collins, to help him with auditions.

Following the success of Good Will Hunting - which featured both Ben and Casey - Chris attended the 70th Academy Awards with Ben and watched him win the best original screenplay award.

Ben previously recalled feeling uncomfortable that his close relationship with his mother was such a spectacle at the 1998 ceremony, with co-star Matt Damon also opting to take his mom.

"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," Ben told Vanity Fair.

"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, born Christopher Anne Boldt in New York City in 1942, was given six months to live following her cancer diagnosis last year.

Her "greatest wish" was to live long enough to see her grandson graduate from high school.

Chris did attend the graduation ceremony with her family on 31 May, before she died two days later.

She is survived by her "favourite young people" Ben, Casey and her five grandchildren Indiana, Violet, Atticus, Fin and Sam.