Sir Patrick Stewart spoke of “significant grief” over his distant relationship with his two children in an interview given before his death at the age of 86.
Stewart discussed the estrangement in a 2023 interview with the Irish Independent, as reported by PEOPLE.
He said he and his children no longer had a real relationship, describing it as “practically non-existent”. He said he still thinks about them every day and feels responsible for who they became.
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The actor blamed his own priorities. He said he always put his acting career ahead of his family. “I could’ve done better as a parent, when my kids were little,” he said.
He also struck a more hopeful note. Stewart said his children “seem to have forgiven” him, and that he was trying to make amends with his grandchildren.
Stewart died on 28 October at his home in Los Angeles.
His spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, announced the news on 29 October, saying he had Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.
His wife, Sunny Ozell, was at his bedside.
He had two children, Daniel, 59, and Sophie, 54, with his first wife, Sheila Falconer.
The couple separated in 1990. Daniel is also an actor and is married to Mary Stillwaggon Stewart, and they have two children. Sophie keeps her life private and has a son and a daughter.
Stewart’s later marriages were to Wendy Neuss, from 2000 to 2003, and to Ozell, whom he married in 2013.
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