Martin Short’s Family Secret; Mother of adopted daughter speaks

The heartbroken 63-year-old mother first said that Katherine tried to contact her before she killed herself, and Sanz believes that if the couple could develop a mother-daughter relationship, Katherine would still be alive today.

“I feel like she wanted to get to know me,” Sanz said, referring to a mysterious Christmas card she received in 2025 signed with a question mark. “She would still be alive today if I was in her life. I might have been able to help her.”

Sanz grew up in the Massachusetts foster care system, and as an emancipated 17-year-old she moved to New York to work as a housekeeper in Englewood, NJ, for acclaimed actress Renee Taylor.

When Sanz became pregnant, she claimed that Taylor “put a lot of pressure on me to give up the baby” or she would lose her job. But the Oscar-nominated screenwriter denied the allegations and said Sanz voluntarily participated in the adoption process.

“She [Sanz] asked me to adopt the baby,” said the 93-year-old, who played the lead role The producers and the sitcom The babysitter. “And I said no, that couldn’t be done, and I said I would find a good home for the baby.”