Kate Beckinsale has confirmed the death of her mother, British actress Judy Loe, at the age of 78.
Loe died on July 15, two years after the announcement of her stage four cancer diagnosis. She is best known for her TV work on shows like General Hospital, Inspector Morse, Casualty and Holby City.
Beckinsale, the only child of Loe and her first husband, actor Richard Beckinsale, posted on Instagram Friday that she is “paralyzed” by grief after her mother’s death.
“I don’t want to post this,” she wrote alongside photos of the pair. “I am only posting this because I have had to register my mother‘s death certificate and it will soon become public record. She died the night of 15 July in my arms after immeasurable suffering.
“I have not picked all the best photos, nor the best videos, because I cannot bear to go through my camera roll yet. I deeply apologize to any of her friends who are finding out this way or through the press, but I cannot go through her phone.”
She continued: “Jude was the compass of my life, the love of my life, my dearest friend. The vastness and huge heart of this tiny woman has touched so many people who love her dearly. She has been brave in so many ways, forgiving sometimes too much, believing in the ultimate good in people and the world is so dim without her that it is nearly impossible to bear.”
Born in 1947, Loe was one of the original cast members of the musical Hair and later made her TV debut in Ace of Wands in 1970. From 1977 to 1979, she was married to Richard Beckinsale, who played Lennie Godber in the BBC sitcom Porridge as well as Alan Moore in the ITV show Rising Damp. He died of a heart attack aged just 31 in 1979.
“Mama, I love you so much,” the couple’s 51-year-old daughter continued on Instagram. “This has been my greatest fear since finding my father dead at five and I am here. Oh my Mama… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I am so sorry.”
Last week, Beckinsale, most familiar to audiences for her roles in Pearl Harbor, The Aviator, Emma, Van Helsing, Serendipity and Jolt, posted video footage of herself singing at Loe’s hospital bedside.
