Katherine Short, 42, the daughter of actor and comedian Martin Short, has died at her Hollywood Hills home, the family confirmed; law enforcement sources have reported an apparent suicide and media outlets say she was found Monday evening around 6 p.m.
The Short family issued a statement through a representative confirming the loss and asking for privacy during their grief. Their words captured both shock and sorrow as they tried to process what happened to someone they called a light in their lives.
“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.”
Media reports say Katherine was found at her home Monday evening, and a law enforcement source shared with the Los Angeles Times that her death appears to be a suicide. Details beyond that have not been publicly released, and the family has asked for space while they grieve and make arrangements.
Katherine built a career in mental health and was a licensed clinical social worker with a solid academic background. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University in 2006 and completed a master’s in social work at the University of Southern California in 2010.
She worked in private practice and also took on part-time clinical work focused on community outreach, peer support, and psychotherapy. Katherine was involved with Bring Change 2 Mind, a group that aims to make school conversations about mental health more open and less stigmatized.
There is a particular cruelty in the idea that someone who spent her life helping others could be overwhelmed by the same darkness she fought for her clients. Clinical training and personal suffering do not cancel each other out, and being skilled at helping others does not guarantee protection from internal struggles.
Katherine was one of three children adopted by Martin Short and his then-wife Nancy Dolman, and her brothers are Henry and Oliver. Dolman first met Martin Short when they worked together on a production of Godspell in 1972, and the couple married in 1980, forging a family life that included three adopted children.
The family has faced loss before: Nancy Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010 at the age of 58, the same year Katherine finished her master’s degree. That earlier grief marked the family deeply, and Martin Short spoke about loss and denial in public interviews in the years that followed.
“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.”
Martin Short is currently on a two-man comedy tour with longtime friend and co-star Steve Martin, and public listings show the next scheduled performance is Friday in Milwaukee. The tour plans are public but the family’s request for privacy around this personal tragedy remains in place.
Katherine’s death also raises hard questions about how the country treats mental health, including the care and support available for the clinicians doing the work. Conservatives have long argued that the modern mental health setup relies too much on institutional fixes and not enough on the social supports that sustain people: family, faith, community, and a sense of purpose.
That perspective is not a policy blueprint so much as an observation: awareness campaigns and social media messages are not substitutes for real, steady support systems. Professionals who sit with pain day after day can carry heavy loads that training alone cannot resolve, and those burdens deserve more recognition and practical help.
We should acknowledge that the networks and institutions meant to catch people sometimes fail, and that includes the very professionals who try to keep others afloat. Talking about needs and resources matters, but so does rebuilding the social scaffolding that supports recovery over the long haul.
Katherine Short spent her career encouraging conversations about mental health and working to make them safer for young people and adults alike. The circumstances of her death highlight the urgent need to strengthen supports for everyone, including caregivers themselves.
If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 988.
