Martin Short Details Late Daughter Katherine’s Mental Health Battle

by

Martin Short has navigated a lot of heartbreak in his life.

Having experienced the loss of his brother and parents before the age of 20, he faced further heartbreak with the death of his wife, Nancy Dolman, from ovarian cancer in 2010. This February, his and Nancy’s oldest child, Katherine Short, tragically died by suicide at the age of 42.

Speaking with Tracy Smith of CBS Sunday Morning on May 10th, he described his wife Katherine’s death as devastating for the family. He emphasized that both mental health issues and cancer are serious illnesses, and sometimes, unfortunately, those illnesses are fatal.

This is Martin’s first time speaking publicly about his daughter’s death since a brief statement was released after she passed away. He shared new details about the private struggles she faced.

As someone who’s navigated a lot of life’s challenges, I want to share a deeply personal experience. My daughter struggled with significant mental health issues for years, including borderline personality disorder and other difficulties. She was incredibly strong and resilient, fighting hard to manage things, but ultimately reached a point where she simply couldn’t continue that fight.

He remembered his daughter Nan saying, “Martin, let me go,” and recalled his son repeating the same plea: “Dad, let me go.”

Even though he knew how difficult things were for Katherine, dealing with the pain of the situation hasn’t been easy for him or his sons, Oliver, 40, and Henry, 36.

He remembered thinking about his own mortality the day his daughter passed away. As he was getting into the car, he questioned why he was still going on at age 75, wondering what the point of it all was.

When the star of Only Murders in the Building arrived at the home of Oliver in Newport Beach, California, where he lives with his wife, Haylen Short, Martin suddenly recalled something.

I’ll never forget when I visited Newport. This man was telling me how his five and four-year-old grandsons immediately saw his giant creation and just shouted, ‘Let’s play!’ He said in that moment, it all clicked – he finally understood why he’d been driven to build it. It was such a sweet story, and it really captured the joy of childhood.

The new Netflix documentary, Marty, Life is Short, focuses on Martin’s ability to bounce back from tough times and find happiness, even after experiencing significant loss. It explores these themes throughout his life and career.

Oh my gosh, did you SEE the trailer?! Andrea Martin, who’s known Steve for ages, said something SO beautiful. She was talking about him becoming a dad, and she said it’s ‘as genuine as his breath!’ Like, can you even HANDLE that?! It just perfectly captures how much this means to him, honestly. It’s just… everything!

For more insight into Martin’s happiest moments with his family over the years, read on.  

Martin Short and his late wife, Nancy Dolman, had three children: Katherine Short, born December 3, 1983, and sons Oliver Short, born April 29, 1986, and Henry Short, born August 4, 1989.

In 2006, the family went to see comedian Martin Short’s Broadway show, Fame Becomes Me, on its opening night.

Martin and Katherine joked around during a 1989 photo shoot.

Martin and Nancy, who married in 1980, took their daughter to the 1997 premiere of Jungle 2 Jungle.

In 2004, the couple and their youngest son, Henry, attended the premiere of Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.

For Bette Midler’s 60th birthday party on Halloween in 2005, Martin opted for a relaxed, business-casual look, while Katherine chose a more formal outfit.

In July 2017, Martin hugged his youngest son, Henry, at a fundraising event called Take Off, EH! held at The Second City comedy club.

The family hung out with Goldie Hawn during the Los Angeles premiere of The Producers in May 2003.

In October 2006, Martin was accompanied by Katherine and Oliver at Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars, a charity benefit event.

Martin unveiled his star on Canada’s Walk of Fame as his son Henry and niece Lena Dolman looked on.

In March 2006, Katherine attended and supported her father during his appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman.

On February 6, 2026, Martin and Henry went to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival to see the premiere of You Had to Be There.

Martin brought Katherine as his plus-one to Vanity Fair‘s Oscars after-party in 2011.

Read More

2026-05-10 21:47