Martin Short’s Late Wife Nancy Dolman Was the Love of His Life: All About Their Marriage

Though Martin Short prides himself on being one of the funniest actors in Hollywood, he suffered a devastating loss in his personal life. His wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, died at age 58 in 2010 after battling ovarian cancer. 

Who Was Martin Short’s Wife Nancy Dolman?

Martin met Nancy while they were both performing in 1972’s Canadian production of Godspell. Prior to beginning her romance with the Saturday Night Live alum, Nancy toured with the Canadian Rock Theatre. She performed in a production of Jesus Christ Superstar that traveled across the U.S. and Canada in the early ‘70s.

The University of Western Ontario graduate was smitten with Martin when they met. The pair got married in 1980. Nancy earned acting credits in 1977’s Custard Pie and 1980’s Landon Landon & Landon before joining the cast of Soap. She portrayed the character Annie Selig Tate in multiple episodes of the ABC sitcom from 1980 to 1981. 

After her recurring arc on the series ended, she went on to appear in 1981’s It’s a Living and 1982’s Family in Blue. The Canadian star took a step back from Hollywood in 1985 after deciding to focus on her family. 

Did Martin Short and Nancy Dolman Have Any Children Together? 

Martin and Nancy adopted three children together during their marriage. Their eldest child, daughter Katherine, was born in 1983. Their eldest son, Oliver, arrived in 1986. Their youngest son, Henry, was born in 1989. 

The entire family supported Nancy after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007. She died three years later, leaving the Tony winner heartbroken. Still, he was grateful for the 30 years of marriage they shared and the wonderful family they started. 

“Before my wife, Nancy, died two years ago, we were together for 36 years, but I would have been divorced five times if I hadn’t found the right person,” Martin candidly shared with The Guardian in October 2012. “I wouldn’t have faked it and played a game just because I didn’t want to be divorced. It’s been a tough two years for my children. 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.”

Years later, the Only Murders in the Building star told AARP that he still communicates with his late wife. 

“She died in 2010, but I still communicate with her all the time. It’s ‘Hey, Nan,’ you know? How would she react to this decision or that, especially regarding our three kids,” he explained in the January 2019 interview. “I believe that when people die, they zoom into the people that love them.”

In his 2014 memoir, I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend, the comedian opened up about their incredible connection. 

“I’m still very much married to Nancy. In our 36 years together, we became so intimately familiar with the workings of each other’s minds that I can convincingly play out the conversations we would be having today, about things that postdate Nancy’s death,” he wrote.

In May 2024, Fox News reported that Martin purchased a new home in California’s Mandeville Canyon. Prior to that, he had lived with Nancy in Pacific Palisades. In his memoir, he reflected on missing their time together at home in the years since her death.

“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,” he wrote. “These, our talks, go on internally, not out loud. You won’t find me sitting out there chattering away, switching seats, schizophrenically playacting both parts … but we do talk, Nancy and I, and I can totally hear where she agrees with me and where she disagrees.”

Martin Short Denied Dating Meryl Streep

While costarring together in Only Murders in the Building season 3, Martin sparked romance rumors with Meryl Streep after they sat together at the Golden Globes in January 2024. The Oscar winner had announced her split from Don Gummer in October 2023.

In a statement via his rep, Martin told People that the two “are just very good friends, nothing more.”