Martin Short Says Pain of Daughter's Death "Will Always Be Present"

He also shared his grief during this difficult chapter, quoting the late Dolly Parton.

"Loss will be devastating to my soul as long as I'll live," he said. "The great Dolly Parton once said, 'Grief is love with no place to go.' My pain about losing my daughter will always be present in my heart, and I think that's simply because what we deeply love, we can never lose."

Martin's message comes months after he previously shared insight into Katherine's mental health battle. 

"So, Nan's last words to me were, 'Martin, let me go,'" the actor explained to CBS News of his wife's 2010 death, before adding of his daughter, "And what she was just saying [was], 'Dad, let me go.'"

In a statement shared with E! News on Feb. 24, a rep for the family said they were “devastated by this loss" and asked "for privacy at this time."

“Katherine was beloved by all,” the statement continued, “and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”

Katherine was the eldest of Martin and Nancy’s three children, which also includes brothers Oliver Short, 39, and Henry Short, 36. 

And while both of her parents were in the entertainment industry, Katherine opted for a different career path as a licensed clinical social worker. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University in 2006, and earned her Master of Social Work from the University of Southern California in 2010.

As for Martin, the comedian—who also lost his brother David Short in 1962—has previously been open about how he’s dealt with grief, discussing it in his 2014 memoir I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend. 

“I can’t stand when the dead are talked about in hushed tones,” he wrote, “or banished from our thoughts.”

In fact, the Only Murders in the Building star shared that he was constantly finding ways to remember those he had lost, especially his late wife Nancy. 

“Nancy has only slipped away into the next room,” Martin said. “So some nights, when I’m really missing her, I’ll grab a rum and Coke at twilight and sit on the couch on our front porch, or perhaps upstairs, on the balcony off of our bedroom, with the Pacific Ocean in view. I’ll call out, ‘Hey, Nan!’ Forming the words just feels good in the throat."

And at the time, Martin was looking to the future. 

"There's still life to be lived, laughs to be had,” he wrote, “children to cherish, dear friends to be gossiped about, and costars to be upstaged.”

“As for the grander questions,” Martin continued, “their answers will surely reveal themselves. Someday. In a fleeting moment.”

For a look at Martin’s life with his family, keep reading.