Pierce Brosnan and his wife Keely Shaye had reason to celebrate this week as they shared a touching family update.
The 61-year-old admitted she and her husband, 71, “are so blessed” as she paid tribute to Pierce’s mother, Mary May Smith, in honor of her 93rd birthday.
“Happy 93rd birthday May! We are so blessed to have you in our lives. Sending oceans of love your way,” Keely captioned the photo of Mary wearing a sparkling tiara.
© InstagramKeely’s followers were quick to pass on their birthday wishes, and many had nothing but kind words to say about Pierce’s mother.
“Happy birthday beautiful May. You are such a fantastic soul and eternal beauty,” one commented. Another said: “Happy Birthday Beautiful May. I remember meeting you and enjoying your quick wit and warm heart.”
Pierce has a close relationship with his mother, but he previously admitted he only met his father, carpenter Thomas Brosnan, once.
“I grew up in a very small town in southern Ireland. I never knew my father. He left when I was an infant, and I was left in the care of my mother and my grandparents,” he told Cigara Ficionado in 1997.
© Getty ImagesMary worked in England as a nurse to provide for her family and Pierce recalled: “My mother came home once a year, twice a year. Consequently, there was a certain amount of early loss in that young boy’s life.”
However, Pierce harboured no resentment toward his mom, adding: “My mother was very courageous. She took the bold steps to go away and be a nurse in England. Basically, wanting a better life for her and myself.”
Pierce is a father of five and shares two of his children, Dylan, 28, and Paris, 24, with Keely.
Family history
He is also a dad to sons Christopher, 52, and Sean, 41, whom he welcomed with his first wife, the late actress Cassandra Harris, who died of ovarian cancer in 1991.
© Getty ImagesPierce adopted Christopher and his sister Charlotte after Cassandra’s ex-husband, Dermot Harris, died in 1989. Charlotte died from the same cancer her mother had at 41 years old.
“Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity,” Pierce told People at the time. “Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl.”
© Getty ImagesPierce spoke about Cassandra and Charlotte in 2014 at a Stand Up To Cancer fundraiser. “To watch someone you love have his or her life eaten away bit by bit by this insidious disease, that part of your sorrow becomes an indelible part of your psyche,” he said.
“I held the generous, strong, beautiful hand of my first wife, Cassie, as ovarian cancer took her life much too soon. Just last year, I held the hand of my funny, wonderful daughter Charlotte before she, too, died from this wretched inherited disease.”
© Getty ImagesThe deaths of his late wife and daughter made Pierce “very aware of how precious the time with my children is”.
“[Life] can be snatched away without any prior warning, so why waste it?” he told The Herald in 2015. “That’s why I enjoy my wonderful, beautiful family, my children and my grandchildren.”
