Actor Martin Short and Katherine Elizabeth Short at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on February 27, 2011, at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. (Gregg DeGuire / FilmMagic via Getty Images) By Malia MendezStaff Writer Follow Feb. 25, 2026 2:20 PM PT 4 min Click here to listen to this article Share via Close extra sharing options Email Facebook X LinkedIn Threads Reddit WhatsApp Copy Link URL Copied! Print 0:00 0:00 1x This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.
- Katherine Short, the eldest daughter of actor Martin Short, died at 42 from an apparent suicide, confirmed by law enforcement.
- The L.A. social worker held degrees from NYU and USC, working to destigmatize mental illness through her involvement with Bring Change 2 Mind.
- Martin Short has postponed upcoming dates on his comedy tour with Steve Martin.
Katherine Short, a Los Angeles social worker and the daughter of actor and comedian Martin Short, has died. She was 42.
Her death was confirmed by her family.
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short,” the family said in a statement. “The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”
Larry David, Martin Short and other famous friends had this to say about Rob Reiner
A group of Rob Reiner’s closest friends released a statement remembering him as a ‘passionate, brave citizen’ who worked to make the world a better place.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Katherine Short’s Hollywood Hills home on Monday at about 6 p.m. Paramedics pronounced her dead shortly after. A law enforcement source told The Times that she died by apparent suicide.
After news broke of his daughter’s death, Martin Short postponed a trio of shows on his joint comedy tour with Steve Martin.
Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre, the venue that was slated to host the duo Friday, in a notice on its website attributed the postponement to “unforeseen circumstances.” A new show date wasn’t given, but the venue said tickets will be honored for a future date.
The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars’ Feb. 28 shows at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre were also postponed, per the venue’s website. The next scheduled tour date without a postponement notice is on March 13 in Washington, D.C.
The Stray Cats cancel U.S. tour months after Brian Setzer is diagnosed with autoimmune disease
The Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer said he was ‘gutted’ after his ‘serious illness’ forced the rockabilly band to cancel their fall tour dates.
Katherine Short, who obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender studies from NYU in 2006 and a master’s degree in social work from USC in 2010, operated a private practice and worked part-time at psychiatry-led outpatient clinic Amae Health, according to People. She was also involved with the charity Bring Change 2 Mind, whose mission is to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness.
She was the eldest of three children Martin Short adopted with his wife, actor Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010. The couple met in the early 1970s while working on the Toronto production of the rock musical “Godspell.” They married in 1980.
“I’ve been asked to write books over the years,” Martin Short told The Times in a 2014 interview at his Pacific Palisades home. “I knew it had to be something more important that just anecdotes. After my wife died, I realized we all go through this and we wake up the next day whether we think the world should stop or not — it doesn’t.”
That year, Martin Short published his memoir, “I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend,” which he dedicated to his children.
Voices Appreciation: Catherine O’Hara was an onscreen benediction From “SCTV” to “Best in Show” to “Schitt’s Creek,” the actor left a mark on her roles that made the projects she starred in an immediate recommendation.
Katherine Short’s death comes less than a month after actor Catherine O’Hara, a close friend and longtime collaborator of Martin Short’s, died of a pulmonary embolism. O’Hara had also been fighting a private battle with rectal cancer.
Martin Short and Martin paid tribute to O’Hara during a recent stop on their joint comedy tour. Recalling meeting O’Hara when she was 18, Martin Short said, “In all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel.”
Martin Short is up for an Actor Award this Sunday for actor in a comedy series for his performance as Oliver Putnam in “Only Murders in the Building.” The Hulu show, which co-stars Martin and Selena Gomez, is also nominated in the ensemble category.
O’Hara is nominated as well for her portrayal of hardened Hollywood veteran Patty Leigh in entertainment industry satire “The Studio,” which earned five total nominations.
Suicide prevention and crisis counseling resources
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, seek help from a professional and call 9-8-8. The United States’ first nationwide three-digit mental health crisis hotline 988 will connect callers with trained mental health counselors. Text “HOME” to 741741 in the U.S. and Canada to reach the Crisis Text Line.
- He’s challenging decades of victim-blaming the ‘Black Dahlia’ Jan. 26, 2026
- For Subscribers An amateur codebreaker may have just solved the Black Dahlia and Zodiac killings Dec. 23, 2025
- Review ‘Long Story Short’ is a moving tale of a modern Jewish American family Aug. 22, 2025
