'Only Murders In The Building' Martin Short Hit With Another Untimely Family Death

A period that is supposed to be full of celebration for Martin Short, because of his upcoming sold-out show, has turned out to be a time of mourning!

The actor's family has just been rocked with a tragedy as his eldest daughter, Katherine Elizabeth, reportedly took her own life and was discovered on Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, at her Los Angeles home.

Martin Short adopted his late daughter, alongside two others, with his late wife, Nancy Dolman, who died in August 2010 following her battle with ovarian cancer.

According to reports from law enforcement, Katherine, who is the actor's eldest child, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday, where she was found dead.

The late Katherine kept a low profile for years despite her father's fame and channeled her energy into charity work targeted towards eradicating stigmas surrounding mental health challenges.

She worked as a social worker in Los Angeles after receiving her bachelor's degree from New York University and pursued a master's degree in social work from USC years later.

As shared by TMZ, Katherine's last public sighting was in 2020 outside Craig's restaurant in West Hollywood. As for Short, the fate of his sold-out show with Steve Martin scheduled to hold this Saturday in Minneapolis remains unknown.

Short and his late wife, Dolman, welcomed three children through adoption for the three decades they were married. He revealed in 2012, two years after Dolman passed, that the kids definitely struggled to cope with her absence.

He also spoke about his children choosing a different path from the entertainment world, where he and his late wife were a part of. PEOPLE shared that aside from Katherine, Short and Dolman also adopted Oliver Patrick Short, who was born on April 29, 1986.

He attended the University of Notre Dame, where he coached the women's ice hockey team and captained the men's snowboard team. After graduating with a degree in film and television production, he pursued a career behind the scenes in Hollywood, working with Warner Bros, FOX Sports, the MLB Network, and NBC Sports.

The actor's last child, Henry Hayter Short, was born on August 4, 1989, and graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in finance. He has since worked with the Royal Bank of Canada as an analyst and now works as a veterinary assistant at the Malibu Coast Animal Hospital.

Katherine's death is the second huge blow the family has suffered since their matriarch passed away nearly two decades ago. Hello Magazine noted that Dolman died from ovarian cancer in 2010, leaving such an impact on her loved ones, and the actor revealed how he found a way to carry her along in every decision the family makes.

"It's 'Hey, Nan,' you know? How would she react to this decision or that, especially regarding our three kids? I believe that when people die, they zoom into the people that love them," Short explained in an interview.

He also recalled his late wife telling him how to give her a befitting farewell ceremony as she fought through her last days. According to him, Dolman had clearly expressed how much she did not want a funeral or a memorial, as she was exhausted and irritated about losing the battle to cancer.

Short stuck to her wishes and noted that he had a party of just 30 people, including their kids and friends, cremated his wife, and spread her ashes into the river alongside their three kids.

The TV personality's late wife was equally a talented comedian and actress with a successful career on stage before meeting Short. She was famous for her work on the hit television series "Soap," where she played the character Annie Selig Tate from 1980 to 1981. 

Dolman also appeared in 1981's "It's a Living" and 1982's "Family in Blue," before taking a step back a few years later to focus on raising a family. The Canadian actress met Short and fell in love during a Toronto production of Godspell in 1972.

The actor revealed in his 2014 memoir that meeting Dolman was love at first sight for him, even though he was dating and living with SNL cast member Gilda Radner at the time. He decided to ask Dolman out a day after he split from Radner when he bumped into her at a restaurant.

The duo tied the knot in 1980, and Short confessed that it was a really fast courtship because he was utterly in love with the actress.

In 2024, the star reflected on his life's journey in an interview, noting how his painful losses as a child helped mold him into a stronger man. As reported by The Blast, Short was just 12 when his older brother passed in a car accident, only to lose his mother shortly after, and his father two years later.

He became an orphan at the age of 20 and was forced to understand life in a way none of his friends did, while being reminded that he can either let his losses defeat him or empower him.

Short ultimately made the decision to keep going, channeling his hurt into his career and becoming the best version of himself as a performer, a thoughtful friend, and a better sibling. According to him:

"I'd try something, and if some people didn't like it, I didn't care because I didn't know them. I was never doing this for the admiration of strangers. I was doing this to make my siblings and my friends laugh."

Sending love and light to Martin Short and the rest of his family as they deal with this loss!