Charlotte Brosnan dies of ovarian cancer aged just 42
Pierce Brosnan’s daughter, Charlotte Brosnan, died of ovarian cancer aged just 42.
The mother-of-two died after a three year battle with ovarian cancer – the same disease which killed her mother Cassandra Harris 22 years ago – at her London home on Friday.
Pierce Brosnan, who has been filming a spy thriller, November Man, in Eastern Europe, last night said: “On June 28 my darling daughter Charlotte Emily passed on to eternal life, having succumbed to ovarian cancer. She was surrounded by her husband Alex, children Isabella and Lucas and brothers Christopher and Sean.
“Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl.
“We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon. We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences.”
Charlotte, who was adopted by the Irish actor in 1986 when her biological father Dermot Harris died, leaves behind her long-term partner, artist Alex Smith and children Isabella, 15, and Lucas, 8.
She is survived by her brothers Christopher, Sean, Dylan and Paris.
Charlotte was nine years old when her mother Cassandra married Pierce Brosnan at Chelsea Registry Office in 1980.
Pierce Brosnan’s daughter, Charlotte Brosnan, died of ovarian cancer aged just 42
Charlotte and her brother Christopher, from Cassandra’s previous marriage to Dermot Harris, were joined by a half-sibling Sean in 1983.
However, Cassandra became ill four years later while filming in India and after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, fought a four year battle with the disease.
She was just 43 when she died in Los Angeles in December 1991.
Pierce Brosnan and Cassandra’s youngest son Sean was only eight years old when she died.
Three years following Cassandra’s death, Pierce Brosnan met journalist Keely Shaye Smith, who he went on to marry in 2001.
Pierce Brosnan, now 60, and Keely Shaye Smith got married in 2001 and they have had two children together, Paris, 12, and Dylan, 16.
In an interview, Pierce Brosnan said: “I know what it’s like to be a widower and what it’s like to find love again.
“So I know there’s hope and that you have to learn to get on with it. Ups and downs are what life is all about. But the memory of Cassie and her fight against cancer is never forgotten.
“Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. I think of Cassie all the time – my son Sean is also her son, of course, and he’s 29 now.”
Charlotte Brosnan battled drug dependency and depression in her early thirties and volunteered for treatment at the Priory Clinic in 2003.