Martin Short’s oldest child, his daughter Katharine Short, changed her last name to avoid being targeting for being the daughter of a famous father.
Though Katherine occasionally accompanied her dad to industry events, she took measures to maintain her anonymity at work. According to TMZ, in 2012, Katherine filed a petition to change her name from “Katherine Elizabeth Short” to “Katherine Elizabeth Hartley.”
She wrote in the petition, “My father is a public figure. I am a psychiatric social worker. I am concerned about potential harassment from future patients resulting from my association with my father.”
Katherine was found dead at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Katherine, 42, was one of three children Short adopted with his wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, before her death from cancer in 2010. She leaves behind two brothers, Oliver Patrick, 39, and Henry Hayter, 36. The couple adopted Katherine in 1983, Oliver in 1986, and Henry in 1989, according to People.
In addition to her varied work as a licensed clinical social worker, specializing in anxiety, psychotic disorders, borderline personality disorder, and more, Katherine worked part-time doing community outreach around psychological issues and did charity work with Bring Change 2 Mind, an organization that works to eliminate the mental health stigma.
A source told Daily Mail that Short’s oldest daughter struggled with her own mental health for years—something that she and the son of late director Rob Reiner, Nick Reiner, had in common. The source claimed the two Hollywood kids were “very close,” growing up just down the street from the Reiner family—Nick, 32, Jake, 34, and Romy, 28—and that she was “very upset” by the Reiner murders.
Nick Reiner was charged with the brutal stabbings of both his parents after they were found murdered in December. He reportedly struggled with substance abuse and mental health challenges. “Katherine and Nick bonded over being the children of famous people. It was a connection they had because they both tried to overcome it,” the source told Daily Mail.
“She felt repulsed by Nick over the murders,” the source added. “I am sure it weighed on her mental health; it was tough.”
On Monday, the same day Katherine died, Reiner pleaded not guilty to the murders. If convicted, he could potentially face the death penalty.
Katherine would often attempt to address her own mental health struggles by checking herself into a facility over the years, and also employed a service dog. “Joni is my incredible service dog, who has been assisting me with my own struggles with mental illness for the past 5 years,” she wrote on her website, which has since been taken down, according to Page Six.
Rande Levine, the founder of dog charity Karma Rescue, with which Katherine worked, told Daily Mail that she would occasionally disappear in the 2010s to check herself into an inpatient mental health facility: “She’d say, ‘I won’t be around, I’m going away.’ She’d go check into some place to boost her up again.”
A representative for the Short family told TMZ on Monday, “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.”
