Martin Short makes tearful admission over his daughter Katherine's suicide 7 months later
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Martin Short has opened up about the painful loss of his daughter Katherine, who took her own life at the age of 42 in February.
The 76-year-old Canadian-American actor, who shared Katherine with his late wife Nancy Dolman, issued poignant comments about grief during Selena Gomez's Rare Impact Fund Benefit on Wednesday (14 October).
During the charity event, Gomez, 34, unveiled an emotional new award, The Katherine Short Legacy Award, which is ‘in memory of Katherine Short, Martin Short’s daughter, who passed away by suicide earlier this year’.
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She told the crowd: “There is one part of tonight that means a lot to me. Katherine was a social worker who devoted her own career to helping people through some of their hardest points.
“This award will carry her name forward by honoring people who have made that same kind of commitment to their communities.”
She added: “Marty has been my friend for many years, and I know how deeply he loves his family. I’m very grateful that he’s here tonight to help us present it for the first time.”
The Only Murders in the Building star took to the stage to say a few words about the grief his family has felt since Katherine’s tragic passing, seven months on.
Short compared his late wife’s battle with cancer to Katherine’s mental health struggles, calling them both ‘diseases’ that can be terminal.
He said: “It has been a very difficult year for me, needless to say. It has been the heartbreak of our family, as you can imagine. But we have also understood in the last eight months - I think my whole family has understood -that mental health and cancer, which took my wife, for example, are both diseases. They are diseases, and sometimes diseases are terminal.”
The actor’s wife Nancy, with whom he also welcomed sons Oliver, 40, and Henry, 37, heartbreakingly died in 2010 after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
He continued: “Katherine fought for so long with extreme mental health issues - borderline personality [disorder], other things - and she did the best she could until she couldn’t.
“And that’s why it’s so important what Selena’s doing tonight, raising these kinds of funds and awareness to help people understand that mental health is simply an illness, not to be hidden in the shadows or perceived as a family embarrassment.”
The star devastatingly admitted that the loss of his daughter ‘will be devastating to my soul as long as I’ll live’.
He told the room: “The great Dolly Parton once said, ‘Grief is love with no place to go.’ My pain about losing my daughter will always be present in my heart, and I think that’s simply because what we deeply love we can never lose, for all that we love deeply becomes part of us.
“Katherine devoted herself to her profession as a clinical social worker, promoting open, compassionate conversations about mental health, and her commitment extended beyond her profession and well into the community.
“So what an honor it is for me to be [here] helping present this award, which honors those creating lasting impact through their commitment to mental health and well-being.”
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website https://harmless.org.uk.
Topics: Selena Gomez, Celebrity, Mental Health, News
Madison Burgess