NEED TO KNOW
- Martin Short’s daughter Katherine Short has died at 42, PEOPLE confirms
- “Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world,” the Short family tells PEOPLE in a statement
- The LAPD confirms they responded to a Hollywood Hills home on Feb. 23
Martin Short’s daughter Katherine Short has died. She was 42.
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short. 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,” the Short family tells PEOPLE in a statement.
On Monday, Feb. 23, the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a call from a Hollywood Hills home at 6:41 p.m. regarding a female. The Los Angeles coroner confirms to PEOPLE that Katherine died by suicide.
TMZ was first to report the news.
Katherine was adopted by Martin and his late wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010. The couple shared two other children via adoption, Oliver Patrick, 39, and Henry Hayter, 36.
Katherine worked in private practice as a licensed clinical social worker and also part-time at the clinic, Amae Health, to provide community outreach, family support groups, peer support and psychotherapy.
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Katherine Short, Henry Short, Nancy Short, Martin Short and Oliver Short in 2006.Peter Kramer/Getty
She received a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University in 2006 and went on to earn her master’s in social work from the University of Southern California in 2010.
Katherine mostly remained out of the public eye, but attended a few events with her father over the years, including the afterparty for The Producers in 2003 and the Vanity Fair Oscar Party in February 2011.