Pierce Brosnan can no longer mask the anguish of losing loved ones after a series of disasters have taken over his life.
Brosnan spoke to Esquire, “I don’t look at the cup as half full, believe me. The dark, melancholy Irish black dog sits beside me from time to time.” He had to helplessly watch his daughter, Charlotte lost her battle with Ovarian cancer, The same illness led to her wife, Cassandra’s death, 22 years ago.
The actor said at a Stand Up to Cancer event, “To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that kind of sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche.” He added, “I held the generous, strong, beautiful hand of my first wife Cassie as ovarian cancer took her life much too soon. And just last year, I held the hand of my funny, wonderful daughter Charlotte before she too died from this wretched, inherited disease,” per Good Housekeeping.
Cassandra’s previous marriage bore Charlotte and her brother, Christopher. However, once their father died in 1986, Brosnan was more than pleased to become their formal father by adopting them and giving them his surname.
Brosnan said, “We just clicked as a family. To begin with I was Pierce, then I was Daddy Pierce, and then I just became Dad. Charlotte and Chris have just been amazing in my life,” per Mirror. Cassandra fell very sick while filming in India in 1987. She died in December 1991 after being diagnosed with cancer. Pierce married his second wife, writer Keely Shaye Smith, in 2001, and they have two children, Paris and Dylan, together.
Charlotte had just recently married the man she adored, Alex, in 2013, when she died at the age of 41. Pierce Brosnan escorted her over the aisle not long before her cancer struggle ended, leaving behind her husband, children, and a heartbroken father, per Fabiosa.
Brosnan told PEOPLE after his daughter’s death, “On June 28 at 2 p.m. 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,” per Mirror.
He added, “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.” He concluded by saying, “We thank everyone for their heartfelt condolences.”