“On June 28 my darling daughter Charlotte Emily passed on to eternal life, having succumbed to ovarian cancer,” Pierce, 60, told PEOPLE. “She was surrounded by her husband Alex, children Isabella and Lucas and brothers Christopher and Sean.”
Charlotte Beat Depression, Addiction Before Her Untimely Death
At least Pierce can take comfort in the fact that Charlotte seemed at peace with herself before she passed. Charlotte beat a long battle with depression and drug addiction after she checked herself into rehab in London in 2003 when she was in her early thirties.
She had previously checked into the same £4,000-a-week Priory Clinic for cocaine addiction and another time for depression over a temporary split from her husband Alex. Charlotte bravely rebuilt her life since checking out of rehab in 2003. She leaves behind a loving family: husband Alex Smith, their daughter Isabella, 14, and son Lucas, 8. She also leaves behind brothers Christopher, Sean, Dylan and Paris.
Charlotte’s Mother Died Of The Same Disease At Age 43
Charlotte’s mother and Pierce’s beloved wife, Cassandra Harris, also died of ovarian cancer in 1991 when she was 43. Pierce was madly in love with Cassandra, and he mourned her death “very publicly,” he said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
“Such things draw a mark across your heart and it’s always a part of your life,” he added. “To watch someone you love have their life eaten away — bit by bit, by this insidious and horrid disease — becomes an indelible part of your psyche.”
Pierce married Cassandra in 1980 and adopted Charlotte in 1986 when her biological father Dermot Harris died. Pierce later married American journalist and author Keely Shaye Smith in 2001, but he said “the memory of Cassie and her fight against cancer is never forgotten.” Pierce had two children with Keely but has always remained close with Charlotte, and with Sean and Christopher, who he fathered during his marriage to Cassandra.
It’s so sad that he lost his wife and daughter to the same disease, but Pierce said, “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.”
Read more about Charlotte’s battles here
— Tierney McAfee
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- Barbara Bush Opens Up About Daughter, 3, Who Died Of Leukemia
- Essie Mae Washington-Williams, Strom Thurmond’s Daughter, Dies