PHOTOSVal Kilmer's Ex-Wife Joanne Whalley Consoles Daughter Mercedes After Actor Tragically Dies at 65: Photos
Val Kilmer's ex-wife consoled her daughter, Mercedes, after the actor's death on April 1.
April 3 2025, Published 3:28 p.m. ET
Val Kimer's ex-wife, Joanne Whalley, was seen comforting her daughter, Mercedes Kilmer, the same week her father passed away at 65 years old.
In the photos, Joanne hugged her kiddo as they shared a sweet moment together.
Scroll through the photos below to see more from their outing.
In photos obtained by OK!, Mercedes, who wore a black jacket and bottoms as she held onto a white bag, looked sad after revealing the news about the Top Gun star, who battled throat cancer for years.
For her part, Joanne, who was married to Val from 1988 to 1996, wore a red jacket.
As OK! previously reported, Mercedes was the one to tell the New York Times her father died.
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In 2015, he was rushed to the hospital "for a possible tumor," but he denied the hearsay, clarifying it was a only a "complication."
“I have not had a tumor, or a tumor operations, or any operation I had a complication where the best way to receive care was to stay under the watchful eye of the UCLA ICU,” he later said in a Facebook post. “I am praying for a speedy return to the boards as they say. God bless you all and please don’t worry.”
Years later, in 2021, Val released his documentary Val, which touched upon the recovery process.
"Now that it's more difficult to speak, I want to tell my story more than ever," he said in the film. "I obviously am sounding much worse than I feel."
"I can't speak without plugging this hole [in his throat]. You have to make the choice to breathe or to eat," he added, noting his meals are through a breathing tube. "It's an obstacle that is very present with whoever sees me."
After the news was made public, Val's Top Gun costar Tom Cruise only had kind words to say about him.
While at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 3, to promote Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the action star, 62, asked the crowd to hold a moment of silence for Val.
"I’d like to honor a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honored I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick," Tom reportedly said. "I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him."
