Updated Feb. 24, 2026, 7:39 p.m. ET
Martin Short‘s family is grieving after the actor’s daughter, Katherine Hartley Short, died at age 42.
“The Short family is devastated by this loss, and asks for privacy at this time,” Short’s representative said in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday, Feb. 24. “Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”
No further details surrounding Short’s death were shared. USA TODAY has reached out to the County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner for more information.
It’s not the first tragedy to strike the family, as the “Father of the Bride” actor’s late wife, Nancy Dolman, died in August 2010 following ovarian cancer.
Here’s what to know about Short’s family.
Who was Katherine Hartley Short?
Born on Dec. 3, 1983, Katherine Short went on to become a licensed clinical social worker working in Los Angeles. She operated a private practice where she specialized in adoption, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, grief and loss, suicidality, and relationship difficulties.
She graduated from New York University in 2006 before earning her master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California in 2010.
During her time at the USC Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, she led group and individual therapy sessions for veterans diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. She later spent four years working at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital.
Who was Martin Short’s late wife, Nancy Dolman?
Nancy Dolman, the wife of Martin Short, was a former actress whose work included a recurring role on the primetime series “Soap.” She and the “Only Murders in the Building” star met in 1972 during a musical production for “Godspell” in 1981, as she was the understudy for Gilda Radner, according to People.
The couple welcomed all three of their children via adoption.
Dolman retired from acting in 1985 to focus on raising her family. She died in 2010 after battling ovarian cancer.
“It’s been a tough two years for my children,” Martin said in a 2012 interview with The Guardian. “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.”
“Our marriage was a triumph,” Short said in a 2019 interview with AARP. “So it’s tough. She died in 2010, but I still communicate with her all the time. It’s ‘Hey Nan,’ you know? How would she react to this decision or that, especially regarding our three kids.”
Who are Martin Short’s other children?
Short also has two sons, Oliver Patrick Short, 39, and Henry Hayter Short, 46, whom he shared with Dolman.
Both attended college at the University of Notre Dame. Oliver Patrick Short coached the women’s ice hockey team and was captain of the men’s snowboard team, according to his LinkedIn page. In 2008, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film and television production.
Henry Hayter Short also pursued athletics at Notre Dame, joining the men’s water polo and fishing clubs, his LinkedIn page says. He was also captain of the ski and snowboard club before graduating in 2012 with a bachelor’s in finance.
In 2019, Martin Short said on “Conan” that none of his children wanted a career in Hollywood, though “I pushed them. I wanted them to go into show business.”
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
