Patrick Stewart Spoke of Estrangement From His Children

Stewart said he regretted that his relationship with his adult children, Daniel and Sophie, had become “practically non-existent.” In an October 2023 interview, he described feeling grief over their estrangement and responsibility for how his choices had affected them. He said he had put acting before his family.

The actor, who had Daniel and Sophie with his first wife, Sheila Falconer, said he had not expected to become separated from them. He also reflected on whether playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard, a thoughtful father figure in “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” had allowed him to portray the kind of father he wished he could have been. He said the role may have been closer to the father he wanted to be himself.

Stewart had spoken previously about prioritizing work when his children were young. He said he was trying to make amends where possible with his grandchildren, and at the time believed his children had forgiven him. In his 2023 memoir, he described his relationships with Daniel and Sophie as a work in progress and wrote that the hurt from his separation from their mother had not fully faded.

Stewart died at home in Los Angeles on October 28, aged 86, after a brief illness involving Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, a statement from his family said. He was with his wife, Sunny Ozell, and was surrounded by family and friends, the statement added.