Martin Short has carried this grief quietly since February. On Sunday, he finally spoke.
The beloved actor and comedian appeared on CBS News Sunday Morning this weekend - the first time he has spoken publicly about the passing of his daughter Katherine, who died by suicide at the age of 42 in February 2026.
He did not shy away from it. He faced it directly, with the kind of honesty that only comes from someone who has already been through more loss than most people will ever know.
"It's been a nightmare for the family," Short said. "But the understanding is that mental health and cancer are both diseases - and sometimes with diseases, they are terminal."
He spoke about Katherine's years-long battle with compassion and without shame. "My daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, Borderline Personality Disorder, other things, and did the best she could until she couldn't," he said.
Short has faced extraordinary loss across his life - his brother and both parents before he turned 20, and then his wife of thirty years, Nancy Dolman, in 2010 after her battle with ovarian cancer. Katherine was the eldest of their three adopted children.
In the interview he also drew a quiet parallel between Katherine's final words and those of his late wife Nancy. "Nan's last words to me were, 'Marty, let me go,'" he said. "And she was just saying, 'Dad, let me go.'"
Short said his daughter's story has deepened his commitment to Bring Change 2 Mind, the mental health advocacy organization founded by actress Glenn Close that works to remove the stigma surrounding mental illness.
There is no clean resolution to grief like this. But the way Martin Short talked about his daughter - with dignity, with love, without minimizing what she carried - is itself a form of grace. For anyone who has watched someone they love fight a battle they could not win, his words land with the weight of recognition.
If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.
