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Home > News > Pierce Brosnan
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By:OK! Staff
April 19 2025, Published 2:50 p.m. ET
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In a tale woven with love and loss, Pierce Brosnan grappled with the shadows of heartbreak after his first wife, Cassandra Harris, died of cancer decades ago.
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Born in Sydney, Australia, on December 15, 1948, Harris was a force to be reckoned with in both the stage and the screen, performing in classics like Shadows (1978) and Enemy at the Door (1980). Her legacy later unfolded in Hollywood.
Harris first wed William Firth in 1964 but split in 1970. The same year, she found love with producer Dermot Harris (Richard Harris’ brother.) They welcomed their daughter, Charlotte, in 1971, followed by son Christopher in 1973, but they ended up divorcing in 1978.
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She later on met Pierce through Richard’s nephew, David, marrying on December 27, 1980. The couple welcomed their son, Sean Brosnan, on September 13, 1983. After Dermot's death from a heart attack in 1986, Pierce legally adopted Cassandra’s children.
But in 1987, Cassandra faced the challenge that ended her life: ovarian cancer. Despite this, she faced the disease head-on, undergoing eight surgeries and countless rounds of chemotherapy.
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But Cassandra later succumbed to the disease, on December 28, 1991 — just a day after her 43rd birthday. Cassandra’s own daughter Charlotte also succumbed to the same disease more than 20 years later at just 41.
Pierce reflected on his late wife’s cancer battle, saying they "really had a fight on our hands" from the very start.
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But as time passed, love found its way back to him.
Nearly a decade later, in 1994, he met his current wife, entertainment journalist Keely Shaye Smith, in Cabo San Lucas. They tied the knot at Ireland's picturesque Ashford Castle in a lavish ceremony on August 4, 2001, and now, they celebrate their 23rd year as a married couple.
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"Keely has always been kind and compassionate and encouraged me to mourn Cassie. … I suppose Keely is my North Star, always looking out for me," Pierce told The Irish Times in 2013.
Pierce recently gushed about their romance. “Keely and I, it’ll be 31 years here soon, and it’s all gone by in the blink of an eye. The speed of a flame,” he told Fox News Digital. “We like each other and we have wonderful sons and we have a creative life.”
“It’s always about solving problems and how you solve the problems and how you can deal with them and the strains of life,” he continued. “But she still makes my heart sing and she still makes my world turn. She allows me to go out into the world and create what I do as an actor.”
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