Richard E. Grant's mum dies in new tragedy following death of his wife
Richard E. Grant has announced the death of his mother, Leonne Esterhuysen, at the age of 93.
The Oscar nominated actor, 66, paid tribute to the woman who gave him the "gift of life" on Thursday night as he shared the news on social media. Richard - who lost his beloved wife to cancer in 2021 - reflected on the "incredibly complicated relationship" he had with his late mother and receiving a "very terse email" from her while grieving his late wife.
"I saw that I had eight missed calls from Africa and knew immediately why, which proved to be that my 93-year-old mother died this morning," Richard began in the video shared on Twitter.
The Can You Ever Forgive Me actor continued: "We had an incredibly complicated relationship, and she’ll be somebody that was, for me anyway, emotionally withdrawn, and withheld her approbation or approval of anything, so nothing was quite good enough.
"What that proved to be is a great motor for ambition and determination to try and prove yourself, and be the best that you possibly can, and yet, ironically, whatever she did, she demanded and got applause and approval from everybody around her, including me."
Alison Hammond 'in relationship' with handsome gardener who works at her mansion
Richard E. Grant, pictured here with his late wife and daughter in 2019, announced the death of his mum on Twitter (AFP via Getty Images)
The Oscar nominated actor recalled how his mother reacted to him staying with her after losing his wife in 2021 (Twitter)Richard , who was born in Swaziland, now Eswatini, announced the death of his wife, Joan Washington, in September 2021. The Spice World The Movie actor and dialect coach Joan tied the knot in 1986 and went on to welcome daughter Olivia into the world together a few years later.
Speaking on Thursday night, Richard recalled staying with his late mother following Joan's death. He told his Twitter followers: "I went to stay with her for a couple of weeks, six weeks after my wife had died, with Covid restrictions being lifted, and she sent me a very terse email at the end of the trip, saying 'I regret to say all of this was an absolute disaster. We only have two things in common, books and classical music'
"So whereas she was very physically untactile, I’ve gone the opposite extreme, so I’ve been a very tactile, loving father and husband, I suppose in response to that. Do I feel sadness that she has died? I feel resignation more than anything, but most of all gratitude, for having given me life.”
Richard pictured with his daughter Olivia and his late mother (Twitter)Richard previously told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs about his prolonged estrangement from his mother, after discovering her cheating on his father, though they later reconciled. He also said his father had turned to drinking after their divorce, and once tried to kill him after he poured away his alcohol.
"Having said that, my memory of him is so much more than remembering that part of him, because I knew that that was something that was entirely brought about by addiction rather than the man that I absolutely worshipped and loved," he told the BBC radio show. Richard is teetotal as his body has an intolerance to alcohol.
Richard is still recovering from the death of his beloved wife of 35 years Joan Washington, who died of lung cancer in September 2021, and has made no secret of how hard it has been to move on with his life. He has admitted being in a "well of grief" after nursing his dialect coach wife - who he affectionately called Monkee-mine - until she died at their Cotswolds cottage at the age of 71.
In a tearful Instagram video posted on what would have been Joan’s birthday in December, the 65-year-old said he is "still in denial she is not here". One thing that has helped him mourn his beloved wife’s passing is writing a book called A Pocket Full of Happiness.
The book, released in late 2022, is a memoir of Richard’s life but inspired by Joan’s last request to her husband that he must try to find a pocketful of happiness in each day. Through a combination of prose and diary entries, it details the last moments he spent with Joan.
Chatting to Fearne Cotton on her Happy Place podcast, Richard said writing the book was like “resurrecting” Joan, which was "helpful" to him. He shared: “It was healing because once you’ve dealt with the funeral and the bureaucracy of death – you have to fill in forms and when people have stopped dealing with you on a daily basis. It’s like that movie where you walk through London and the world has been vacuumed of people."
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
