Pierce Brosnan Turned To Faith To Overcome ‘Sorrow’ From Losing His First Wife And Daughter

May 05, 2022 by apost team

Life in the limelight is not always as glamorous as people may think. The sense of fame and fortune that follows is definitely a perk for celebrities, but sometimes a lack of privacy is accumulated in return. For some, this means speaking out about some of the more challenging moments of their lives, such as going through a public breakup or losing a loved one.

Actor Pierce Brosnan is most known for his role as secret agent James Bond in four James Bond films, including “GoldenEye,” “Tomorrow Never Dies,” “The World Is Not Enough” and “Die Another Day.” He has also portrayed the character in a variety of video games in the same universe.

Brosnan moved to London, England, at 11 years old and went on to study at the Drama Center. He found work as a stage actor and quickly made his way to television and film, with one of his first breakthrough roles being in the TV series “Remington Steele.” Afterward, he found more success in films and ultimately went on to achieve worldwide fame for his role as James Bond.

However, Brosnan has had his fair share of struggles over the years. He was married to his first wife, Cassandra Harris, for 11 years before she sadly passed away. The couple had one biological son together, and Harris had two other children from a previous marriage, including Charlotte. After grieving the loss of his first wife, Brosnan also grieved the loss of Charlotte. He turned to his upbringing as a Catholic Irishman to help him move forward. 

Brosnan is known for having a successful career and a long-lasting marriage to journalist Keely Shaye Smith. The pair have been married since 2001, and Smith has stood by Brosnan’s side during many of his more difficult moments in life, helping him learn to love again following the death of his first wife, Harris.

According to RSVP Live, Brosnan and Harris met in 1977. Harris was married at the time and already had two children, Christopher and Charlotte, who were 15 and 14 years old at the time. Brosnan and Harris eventually started dating and married in Dec. 1980. They also had a son together named Sean.

Sadly, Brosnan’s family faced many challenges in the years that followed. In 1987, Cassandra was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She passed away in Dec. 1991 at the age of 43. It was a struggle for the children and Brosnan.

“When your partner gets cancer, then life changes,” he said, as reported by RSVP Live. “Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this changes. Because you’re dealing with death.”

Brosnan was faced with tragedy again in 2013 when Charlotte also died from ovarian cancer at the age of 41. According to 9Honey, Brosnan was filming “The November Man” in Europe and rushed home to be with his daughter before her death. Losing two people so important to him left Brosnan in a state of depression, as reported by 9Honey.

“I don’t look at the cup as half full, believe me,” he said. “The dark, melancholy Irish dog sits beside me from time to time.” He continued, “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 inedible part of your psyche.” 

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Brosnan stayed strong following such devastating heartbreak and turned to his faith to help him overcome his insurmountable grief. Speaking with AZ Central about how he gets through his toughest days, he said, “I would say faith, being Irish, being Catholic, it’s ingrained in my DNA.”

Irish Central reported that Brosnan is not always a fan of religious groups, specifically the Christian Brothers, by whom he was taught as a child. In a profile from Cigar Aficionado, Brosnan called them “dreadful human beings.” However, in the same interview, he explained some of the lessons he learned from dealing with troubling situations. He said:

“But you learn to be happy within all of that; you learn how to create your own happiness. And you learn to forgive. You learn to rise above it.”

However, Brosnan uses prayer to guide him through hard times.

“(Prayer) helped me with the loss of my wife to cancer and with a child who had fallen on tough times,” the actor said. “Now prayer helps me to be a father, to be an actor and to be a man. It always helps to have a bit of prayer in your back pocket.”

On top of that, Brosnan’s marriage to Smith also helped him come to terms with his loss. While he has realized it’s important to grieve, he has also realized it’s important to keep living his life.

“I know what it is like to be a widower and what it is like to find love again,” Brosnan said. “So I know there’s hope and that you have to learn to get on with it. But the memory of Cassie and her fight against cancer is never forgotten.” 

What do you think about Pierce Brosnan’s life and career and how he’s dealt with loss? Let us know, and feel free to pass this along to your loved ones.