Martin Short talks about daughter Katherine's death with poignant message
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity, US News
Jen Thomas
Featured Image Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
Topics: Mental Health, Celebrity, US News
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide, which some readers may find distressing.
Hollywood star Martin Short has been praised for the way he has talked about his daughter Katherine's death.
Katherine sadly died by suicide back in February, at the age of 42.
She was the eldest of three children adopted by Short and his late wife, Nancy Dolman, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2010 at the age of 58.
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Short has described the loss of his daughter as 'a nightmare' for the family to handle in the wake of their loss.
He opened up about the unimaginable tragedy on CBS Sunday Morning: “It’s been a nightmare for the family but the understanding [is] that mental health and cancer, like my wife’s, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal."
He continued: "My daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she couldn’t until she couldn’t.”
Fans have praised his words, with one writing: "This is a really beautiful way to talk about someone who died by suicide."
"This is devastating. Calling mental illness a disease matters so much people aren’t 'weak,' some are just fighting on hard mode every single day," added another.
One fan added: "That’s one of the most heartbreaking and honest ways I’ve ever seen someone talk about mental illness. Not romanticizing it. Not hiding it. Just acknowledging that some people fight for years with everything they have."
They continued: "The line 'she did the best she could until she couldn’t' is devastating."
"It’s heartbreaking how much Martin Short has been through" wrote another sadly.
Katherine was a licensed social worker in Los Angeles, and had spent her career working in mental health and supporting charities in an attempt to break the stigma around mental health and the many conditions it encompasses.
She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies in 2006.
The Short family has experienced a lot of loss, after Dolman died too.
Short opened up about the aftermath of losing a spouse and mother.
He told The Guardian: “It’s been a tough two years for my children. This is the thing of life that we live in denial about, that it will ever happen to us or our loved ones, and when it does you gain a little and you suffer a little. There’s no big surprise.”
For advice, support, and more information, you can contact the nurse-led specialist team at Compassion in Dying via their helpline 0800 999 2434. You can also email them at [email protected].
Additionally, if you're experiencing distressing thoughts and feelings, the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) is there to support you. They're open from 5pm–midnight, 365 days a year. Their national number is 0800 58 58 58 and they also have a webchat service if you're not comfortable talking on the phone.