Kate Beckinsale.
(Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage)Kate Beckinsale has marked the one-year anniversary of her stepfather’s death with a candid and emotional post, detailing what it was like to watch both him and her father die.
The actress shared a photo of her late stepfather, Roy Battersythrough her Instagram account on Friday, January 10. The image shows Roy wearing a novelty shirt that reads: ‘World’s best farter. I mean dad” and laughs while holding a bouquet of flowers.
“Finding my father’s dead body in the middle of the night, at the age of five, shaped my entire life. It will haunt me forever to see my beloved stepfather die a year ago today,” Beckinsale, 51, wrote in the lengthy tribute. “It seems terribly careless that I was present at both deaths and could not prevent either the second time I tried with everything I had. It wasn’t enough.”
The Canary Black actress reflected on her grief and sense of loss surrounding the death of Battersy, who passed away in Los Angeles in January 2024 after “a brief illness.”
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Max Mara Kate Beckinsale is mourning the death of her stepfather, British director Roy Battersby. “I have no words yet. Thank you @katebeckinsale_slovakia2 for making this beautiful thing,” Beckinsale, 50, captioned an Instagram video of Battersby taken by a fan account on Monday, January 15. “I fought for you with everything. […]
“In losing my beloved Roy, I lost family, friendships, at some points my own health, and all the money I had, because of how disgusting the American healthcare system is for those who are uninsured. I would do it again. No doubt about it. I can’t help but feel that I have failed miserably,” she wrote
Beckinsale went on to explain that she leans on what she can to “comfort” herself, telling herself that Battersy was prepared for the end of his life and was “at peace with it.”
“However, it feels like a lie I’m telling myself to try to feel better. Maybe, unfortunately, I’m just not informed enough to sell that to myself because of my sense of loss, guilt and failure,” she admitted.
The one-year anniversary of Battersy’s death was a difficult pill to swallow, according to Beckinsale.
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images UPDATE: 1/19/24 at 12:45 PM ET A day after Beckinsale shared her frustrations with BAFTA about honoring her late stepfather, the awards show has decided to pay tribute to him at a later ceremony. “We were very sorry to hear of the recent passing of Roy Battersby; he was famous […]
“It’s a difficult day to talk about our early and precious tragedy, but since I wasn’t able to save him, I’ll be damned if I don’t honor him in some small way,” she continued. “He taught me to be brave. He taught me that it doesn’t matter if people don’t like you as long as you do the right thing. He lost everything fighting for justice for the unions, for the Palestinians in the 1970s, while living with them in He spent several years visiting refugee camps in Lebanon and made his documentary ‘The Palestinian’ in 1977, in which he fought for the miners who lost everything during the strikes.”
She concluded, “I am so lucky to have been raised by someone who knew what was right without compromise and lived it. And loved me. Thank you for being my father. I miss you so much.”