Katherine Short, the 42-year-old daughter of actor and comedian Martin Short, died Monday at her home in the Hollywood Hills.

A representative for the family confirmed the loss in a statement.

"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."

According to TMZ, Katherine was reportedly found dead Monday evening around 6 p.m. A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times that she died by an apparent suicide.

A life devoted to helping others

According to the Guardian, Katherine Short was a licensed clinical social worker who built her career around mental health. She received a bachelor's degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University in 2006 and a master's in social work from the University of Southern California in 2010.

She went on to work in private practice and, according to People, also worked part-time at a clinic providing community outreach, peer support, and psychotherapy. She was involved with Bring Change 2 Mind, an organization that aims to empower young people to build school communities where conversations about mental health are welcome and stigma-free.

There is a particular cruelty when someone who pours their life into caring for others is consumed by the very darkness they help others fight. It is a reminder that clinical knowledge and personal suffering occupy different rooms in the same house.

A family shaped by loss

Katherine was one of three children adopted by Martin Short and his then wife, Nancy Dolman, along with her younger brothers, Henry and Oliver. Dolman first met Short in 1972 when they worked together on a production of Godspell. They married in 1980.

The family has known grief before. Dolman died from ovarian cancer in 2010, aged 58, the same year Katherine completed her master's degree.

Martin Short reflected on loss in a 2012 interview with the Guardian, calling it "tough" and offering a candor that feels heavier now in retrospect.

"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."

Short is currently on a two-man comedy tour with his longtime friend and Only Murders in the Building co-star Steve Martin. The next show is scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee.

A broader crisis deserving honest conversation

Katherine Short's death is, first and foremost, a private tragedy for a family that deserves the space to grieve. But it also illuminates something Americans across the political spectrum recognize: the nation's mental health infrastructure is failing people, including the very professionals who staff it.

Conservatives have long argued that the modern approach to mental health leans too heavily on institutional frameworks while neglecting the foundations that have sustained human resilience for centuries: family, faith, community, and purpose. None of that is a policy prescription. It is an observation born from watching a culture that talks endlessly about "mental health awareness" while the crisis deepens year after year.

Awareness campaigns are not cures. Hashtags do not heal. And the people who dedicate their careers to sitting with others in their pain often carry burdens that no professional training adequately addresses.

Katherine Short spent her career trying to make those conversations possible for others. She deserved someone doing the same for her.

If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can be reached at 988.