From his iconic sketch humor to his ongoing Only Murders in the Building bromance with co-star Steve Martin, actor and comedian Martin Short has been making audiences laugh for more than five decades. One of the biggest joys in his own life was his marriage to Nancy Dolman.
Now streaming, the Netflix documentary Marty, Life Is Short puts a new spotlight on Short and Dolman’s relationship. The pair were married for almost 30 years before Dolman’s 2010 death from cancer.
Dolman’s passing is one of many family tragedies Short, 76, has endured throughout his life. The comedian lost his older brother David, mother Olive, and father Charles to a car accident, cancer complications, and a stroke, respectively, before turning 20. In February 2026, his daughter Katherine Short—one of his three children with Dolman—died by suicide.
Here’s everything we know about Short’s relationship with Dolman and her influence on his career.
Short and Dolman met on set during his first major role
Long before he became known to larger audiences on SNL and in movies such as Three Amigos! (1986) and Clifford (1994), Short began his acting career on the theater stage.
Although he graduated from McMaster University with a degree in social work, Short decided to try acting, and picked up his first major role in a 1972 production of Godspell in Toronto. The cast included a number of names who would go on to earn comedic fame, including Eugene Levy and Gilda Radner. Short and Radner began living together in an off-again, on-again relationship.
It was around this time Short met Dolman, who was hired as Radner’s understudy. On the Where Everybody Knows Your Name with Ted Danson & Woody Harrelson podcast, Short explained that, although he “loved Gilda,” he quickly connected with Dolman amid one of his many breakups. “It was fast,” Short said, according to People. “One day. One day, I was single. That’s crazy.”
Short and Dolman married on December 22, 1980.
Dolman continued working as an actor through the mid-1980s, with her most notable credits including recurring roles on television series Custard Pie in 1977 and Soap from 1980 through 1981.
Short and Dolman adopted three children together
Dolman ultimately stepped away from show business to take care of the pair’s three adopted children: daughter Katherine (born in December 1983) and sons Oliver (April 1986) and Henry (born August 1989).
Katherine worked in private practice as a licensed clinical social worker and worked part-time at the Amae Health clinic to provide community outreach, family support groups, peer support, and psychotherapy, according to People. She was also passionate about mental health; Martin later revealed she battled “extreme mental health” conditions throughout her life, including borderline personality disorder.
Katherine died at age 42 in February 2026. The County of Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s office confirmed she died by suicide. “The Short family is devastated by this loss, and asks for privacy at this time,” a statement read.
Oliver, now 40, has worked as an executive assistant at Warner Bros. Pictures and a producer for Fox Sports and the MLB Network.
Henry, 36, works as a veterinary assistant at the Malibu Coast Animal Hospital and has appeared with Martin at a variety of public events throughout the years.
Short described his life with Dolman as a party that “never ended”
Short explained how he and Dolman maintained their relationship in a 2015 interview with the Hudson Union Society.
“I think there’s got to be a desire to make it work. You want to make it work. But Nan and I just had a party and it never ended,” Short explained. “There was never a packed bag. If there was a fight, it was always dissolved in the day.”
Their Hollywood friends apparently took notice. Actor Catherine O’Hara, who died of a pulmonary embolism on January 30, 2026, appears in Marty, Life Is Short and describes how she and husband Bo Welch held the couple in high regard.
“My husband and I went through a little rough patch, and we went to therapy,” O’Hara said in the documentary, according to Entertainment Weekly. “And one of the questions she [asked] was, ‘Do you have friends, do you know a couple whose relationship you would love to have or you’d love to emulate?’ We said, ‘Oh, we have these friends Marty and Nancy.’ And she said, ‘I can’t tell you how many people have named them when I’ve asked this question.’”
Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010
A 2007 tabloid report claimed Dolman was diagnosed with cancer, according to People, though no other information was made public at the time. Multiple reports later confirmed she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Dolman had surgery to remove a growth in her left groin area, per Radar Online. However, she and Short preferred to keep her medical information private.
Dolman died on August 21, 2010, after an emergency call was placed from Short’s home in Los Angeles. A coroner confirmed Dolman was receiving private care for a natural disease and died of natural causes, but the actor’s publicist declined to elaborate on the cause.
During a 2014 appearance on The Meredith Vieira Show, Short spoke about how their family paid tribute to Dolman. “She once said to me, ‘I don’t want a funeral, and I don’t wan’t a memorial. And throw a party or not,’” Short recalled. “She just was so, I think, irritated that she was losing this battle. She didn’t want to think about it. So, I just followed her wishes.”
According to Short, they held a party with 30 close friends and family. Dolman was cremated, and her remains were spread into the water on a boating excursion near Short’s cottage in Canada.
The new documentary is a “love letter” to Dolman
Marty, Life Is Short recounts the actor’s relationship with Dolman through his own home movies, according to NPR. “When I first saw a rough cut of this documentary, I said to [director] Larry Kasdan, ‘I didn’t know you were in love with Nancy!’ Because it is a love letter to her.”
Although Short hasn’t spoken publicly about Dolman’s death often, it’s apparent the comedian is determined to preserve her legacy as an actor, a wife, and a mother.
“George Eliot said, ‘Our dead are never dead to us until we have forgotten them.’ We were together for 36 years. I didn’t want to forget Nancy,” Short said.
Watch Marty, Life Is Short on Netflix
Marty, Life Is Short is now streaming on Netflix. The documentary features interviews with Short and other comedy greats, including Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, and Steve Martin.
Watch the Documentary on Netflix
Tyler Piccotti joined the Biography.com staff as an Associate News Editor and is now the News and Culture Editor. He previously worked as a reporter and copy editor for a daily newspaper recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors. In his current role, he shares the true stories behind your favorite movies and TV shows and profiles rising musicians, actors, and athletes. When he's not working, you can find him at the nearest amusement park or movie theater and cheering on his favorite teams.
