Martin Short's Daughter Dies at 42
Katherine Hartley Short, the eldest daughter of actor Martin Short, passed away by suicide at age 42 on February 23 at her home in the Hollywood Hills. She was a licensed clinical social worker and mental health advocate. The family has requested privacy and postponed upcoming comedy shows.
- Katherine Short earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and gender studies from New York University in 2006 and a master's in social work from the University of Southern California in 2010. Her career included working at UCLA's Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital and with the charity Bring Change 2 Mind, which aims to destigmatize mental illness. - On her professional website, she had written about her own personal struggles with mental illness and was assisted by her service dog, Joni. Her private practice listed specializations in areas including anxiety, psychotic disorders, and borderline personality disorder. - This is the second major loss for Martin Short, whose wife of 30 years and Katherine's mother, actress Nancy Dolman, passed away from ovarian cancer in 2010 at the age of 58. Short has stated in past interviews that he still regularly communicates with his late wife. - Katherine was the eldest of three children Martin Short and Nancy Dolman adopted; she is survived by her younger brothers, Oliver and Henry. - Martin Short has previously experienced significant family tragedy, losing his oldest brother in an accident, his mother to cancer, and his father to a stroke all by the time he was 20 years old. - The postponed comedy shows were part of the "The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short" tour. The impacted dates included performances scheduled for the weekend of February 27-28 in Milwaukee and Minneapolis.
