Patrick Stewart died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86. His longtime spokesperson said he passed after a short illness with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. His wife Sunny Ozell was with him. Family and friends gathered around. There was music, prayer, some tears and some laughter.
Years earlier Stewart spoke plain about his two adult kids. Daniel and Sophie came from his first marriage to Sheila Falconer. He told the Irish Independent in 2023 that the bond with them was practically nonexistent. “Given that I’m separated from my children now — we don’t have relationships — they have become very important,” he said.
He admitted the work always came first. “I always put my acting work first, before my family.” When the kids were little he was obsessed with the job. Everything else ranked second. He said he could have done better as a parent.
The distance hurt him every day. “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not pained by the memory of my children, who they were and by a sense of responsibility that they became who they are in part because of me and my influence or lack of influence on them.”
Daniel went into acting too. He showed up in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Silent Witness. Sophie kept a quieter life. Both were grown when their father talked about the gap between them.
Stewart tried to make up some ground with the grandchildren. He noted his own children seemed to have forgiven him. Still the relationship stayed thin. He married twice more after the divorce in 1990. The last marriage to Sunny Ozell lasted until the end.
On screen he played strong father figures like Captain Picard and Professor Xavier. Off screen the regret over his real kids stayed with him. He is survived by Sunny, Daniel and Sophie.
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