Actor Sylvester Stallone lost his half-sister Toni Ann Filiti, 48, who passed away due to lung and liver cancer on Sunday.

1 Sep - American action star Sylvester Stallone may be experiencing success with his latest ensemble action film, "The Expendables 2" onscreen and in the box office, but personally, Stallone is having a hard time, having recently lost his half-sister Toni Ann Filiti to cancer, according to San Diego Reader.

This is the second tragedy to strike the Stallone in two months. Six weeks ago, his 36-year-old son Sage Moonblood Stallone was found dead in his Studio City, Los Angeles home on 13 July. While waiting for his son's toxicology reports, the 66-year-old was told that his half-sister, the daughter of Jackie Stallone with second husband Tony Filiti, was found dead at her mother's residence in Santa Monica, California on Sunday. She was only 48.

Filiti, who played a small role in 1996 film "The Appointment", spent her final days at home on heavy pain medication for her lung and liver cancer after leaving the hospital.

"I was holding her in my arms. I had just washed [her] face and told her how pretty she looked, and she just fell asleep," matriarch Jackie Stallone, said of her daughter's death from lung cancer that traveled to her brain.

She went on to say, "What a terrible month. First Sage and now Toni. It's hard. At least they're together now in heaven."

When she was alive, Filiti did not have a very happy life, as both of her marriages, first with Markus Schaub, then Louis D'Alto, ended up in divorce respectively, in 1989 and 2001. She was survived by a son, whom she had with D'Alto.

Six weeks ago, Sylvester Stallone's son Sage (right) died due to suspected drug overdose.

The sad news was delivered to Stallone by 90-year-old Jackie.

"He said he can't take any more pain. He'll always be there for her son," she revealed.

During a promotional activity for "The Expendables 2" on Good Morning America, the "Rocky" star admitted that his son's death was "very, very tough" but "a reality of life".

Stallone explained that he managed to cope with Sage's death with the help of his family members and friends. The actor had also been keeping himself busy with his film's promotional activities in an attempt to move on with his life.