Meet Actor Martin Short’s Three Adopted Children With Late Wife Nancy

Martin Short has had a highly rewarding career that has been full of accolades in Hollywood. On top of that, the 72-year-old is also a loving father to his three children, Katherine, Oliver, and Henry, whom he adopted with his late wife, Nancy Dolman.

The couple met in 1972 during Short’s performance at the Canadian run of Godspell, a show that has been reenacted on Broadway several times. The lovers got married in 1980, just at the time when Nancy became a regular cast member on the ABC sitcom Soap. The couple decided to start a family, thus the late actress took a step back from showbiz to focus on raising their children. Sadly, Nancy Dolman died of ovarian cancer on August 21, 2010, after 36 years of marriage.

Martin Short and his children mourn Nancy Dolman with a party

The 72-year-old revealed while appearing on The Meredith Vieira Show that Dolman’s last wish was that no memorial or burial service be held after she passed. Instead, she told her husband to throw a party or do nothing following her demise. Short claimed that Dolman was “so irritated that she was losing this paddle, she didn’t want to think about it.”

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The comedian fulfilled his wife’s last wish and honored her request with a party held at their lake house in Toronto, Canada. The event was attended by family and friends, with lots of singing, the same way they did during the Christmas holidays. “She was cremated. We, the kids, and I went to a boat,” Short explained. “We sprinkled the ashes in the water and we jumped into the ashes.”

Martin Short’s life as a single parent

After more than a decade since he lost his wife, Short has remained single and focused on being the best dad in the world to his kids. He once revealed in an interview with The Guardian in 2012 that Dolman’s death was a heavy blow to him and the kids.

“It’s been a tough two years for my children,” he told the outlet. “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.” At 72, the loving father still spends time with his kids, Katherine, Oliver, and Henry who also support him.

Meet Martin Short’s three children:

Katherine Short

Katherine was born on Dec. 3, 1983. Ever since her adoption by Short and Nancy, Katherine has been nothing but a pillar of support for her father’s projects. In 2006, she attended a Broadway benefit hosted by the comedy legend while she was studying at New York University.

Despite leading a private life, she has joined her dad on the red carpet on numerous occasions. In 2011, Katherine attended the 83rd Annual Academy Awards Vanity Fair party with Martin. She also accompanied her father to the 2008 premiere of The Spiderwick Chronicles in Los Angeles, CA, rocking a navy blue long-sleeved dress with a plunging neckline.

Oliver Short

Oliver is Martin and Nancy’s eldest son. The 36-year-old graduated from Notre Dame and chased a dream to become a producer at NBC and the MLB Network. In an interview with Conan O’Brien, Martin Short revealed that even though he motivated his children to seek careers in show business, none of his kids took the cue.

While he has remained behind the camera for most of his life, Oliver however did make a rare appearance at the 2006 premiere of Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me with his family which was held in New York.

Henry Short

Henry is the youngest child of the celebrity couple, was born on Aug. 4, 1989, and like his older brother, he also attended Notre Dame. Not much is known about his personal life as he is a private person; however, he graced the premiere of the film Inherent Vice with his father in New York in 2014.