Martin Brief is aware of what real love appears to be like and looks like, all because of his late spouse, Nancy Dolman.
For almost 30 years, the Solely Murders within the Constructing star was married to the Canadian actress and singer. After Dolman died in 2010 after a three-year battle with most cancers, Brief shared a glimpse into how his late spouse modified his life perpetually.
“Her demise emboldened me to take dangers,” he instructed AARP in 2019. “With actual tragedy, you grow to be somewhat extra daring. It’s the yin to the yang: the optimistic a part of life’s darkish facet.”
The couple’s love story was put again within the highlight in February 2026 when one in all their kids, Katherine Hartley Brief, was discovered useless in her Hollywood Hills, California, house.
“It’s with profound grief that we verify the passing of Katherine Hartley Brief,” Martin’s rep confirmed in an announcement to Us Weekly on the time. “The Brief household is devastated by this loss and asks for privateness presently. Katherine was beloved by all and can be remembered for the sunshine and pleasure she introduced into the world.”
Preserve studying to be taught extra about Martin and Dolman’s relationship and the household they created:
How Did Martin Brief and Nancy Dolman’s Love Story Start?

Nancy Dolman and Martin Brief
Kevin Winter/Getty PicturesMartin Brief and Nancy Dolman first met in Toronto, Canada, whereas engaged on a musical manufacturing of Godspell in 1972. (The duo had been each solid members.)
After falling in love, the couple married in December 1980 and started to begin a household of their very own.
When Did Martin Brief’s Spouse Nancy Dolman Die?
In August 2010, Martin Brief mourned the demise of his spouse, Nancy Dolman, three years after she was identified with ovarian most cancers. Dolman handed away at her house in Pacific Palisades, California. She was 58.
Though he was a nominee for his work on FX’s DamagesBrief selected to skip the 2010 Emmys within the wake of his spouse’s demise.
What Has Martin Brief Mentioned About Grief?
In an interview with AARP in 2019, Martin Brief opened up about life with out his spouse.
“Our marriage was a triumph. So it’s robust. She died in 2010, however I nonetheless talk along with her on a regular basis,” he shared with the publication. “It’s ‘Hey, Nan,’ you realize? How would she react to this choice or that, particularly concerning our three youngsters. I consider that when folks die, they zoom into the folks that love them. This concept that it simply ends, and don’t converse of them — that’s unsuitable. That’s based mostly on denial that we’re all going to die. So to me, she’s nonetheless right here.”
How Many Youngsters Did Martin Brief and Nancy Dolman Have?
Throughout their almost 30-year marriage, Martin Brief and Nancy Dolman adopted three kids, together with Katherine Hartley Brief, Oliver Brief and Henry Brief.
“None of them needed to enter present enterprise, and I pushed them,” Martin joked of his kids’s aversion to Hollywood throughout a 2021 look on Conan. “I needed them to enter present enterprise. I make them do laps within the morning and I am going to the balcony with my espresso and say, ‘Quitter! Do it once more!’
Katherine was a social employee and concerned with the charity Deliver Change to Thoughts previous to her February 2026 demise. The charity goals to eradicate the continuing stigma related to psychological well being amongst younger folks.
In line with LinkedIn, Oliver is an occasion producer whereas Henry serves as a veterinary assistant at a Southern California animal hospital.
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