Best known for portraying agent 007, actor Pierce Brosnan has been considered a true Hollywood heartthrob. Landing the ultimate macho role of James Bond marked his professional life and cemented his career in the world of film.
During his early life, he was abandoned by his father, and his mother was forced to leave him with his grandparents in Ireland while she looked for a job that could help her support him in London.
Speaking of the time his spent with his grandma and grandpa as a young child, Brosnan recalled, “There were two lodgers — workingmen, one in the factory and one in the sawmill.
“I had a metal bed with a curtain around it…. That was my room and my haven and my space,” he shared with Esquire.
Even then, he loved watching films, mostly American Westerns, and dreamed of becoming an actor.
To the delight of all of us, his dream came true.
When he turned 31, Brosnan was reunited with his father.
“I had a Sunday afternoon with him. A story about this and that, had a few pints of Guinness, and we said goodbye,” he recalled. “I would have loved to have known him. He was a good whistler, and he had a good walk…. That’s as much as I know about him.”
When Brosnan went to London to study drama school in 1977, he met Cassandra Harris. At the time, she was still married to husband Dermot Harris, with whom she had two children, Chris and Charlotte.
Brosnan was said to have been smitten by Harris’ charm and beauty. She was five years his senior, but he fell for her instantly and the two married five years later. After the passing of Harris’ first husband, Brosnan officially adopted her two children. The couple went on to have a child on their own, son Sean.
“We just clicked as a family,” the actor once revealed. “To begin with I was Pierce, then I was Daddy Pierce, and then I just became Dad. Charlotte and Chris have just been amazing in my life.”
When Sean was welcomed into the world, the family seemed complete. But then, in 1987, Harris received the news of the devastating diagnosis. She battled ovarian cancer for four years before passing away.
Brosnan recalled that the night he lost his wife was the longest of his life.
“I was in a helpless state of…confusion and anger. She was comforting me,” he told People as he opened up of the tragic loss he suffered.
“She has made me the man I am, the actor I am, the father I am.
“She’s forever embedded in every fibre of my being. She’s there with me every day. I was so blessed to have met someone like that.”
Years after Harris left this world, Brosnan suffered yet another heartbreak when his adopted daughter Charlotte was diagnosed with the same form of cancer as her mother. She too passed away, leaving behind her two children and a husband. This loss brought back many bitter memories for Brosnan who was grief-stricken.
“Charlotte fought her cancer with grace and humanity, courage and dignity. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of our beautiful dear girl. We pray for her and that the cure for this wretched disease will be close at hand soon,” the actor said in a statement.
Following Cassandra’s passing, Brosnan had a hard time coping with the loss. However, he eventually met someone new, his current wife of over 20 years, Keely Shaye Smith.
The actor has fallen for Kelly from the moment he laid eyes on her at a Mexican bar in 1992. They started dating two years later and tied the knot after seven years. He knew something was different about her. In an interview with The Independent, the former James Bond star revealed why he was drawn to Keely in the first place.
“I love her vitality, her passion. She has this strength that I wouldn’t be able to live without. When Keely looks at me, I go weak.”
It did not take long before the two fell in love. Speaking with People in 2001, she explained that she found Pierce Brosnan “captivating.”
“[He was] “tall, dark, and handsome — everything that everybody would immediately be attracted to. He had this mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I thought, ‘Wow! Wow!’” Keely said.
“I understand why women find him sexy, because he is an appealing man. He really likes and appreciates women. … He’s intelligent, captivating and his real beauty emanates from the soul. And, like a fine wine, he’s aging beautifully.”
Brosnan had previously admitted that meeting Kelly “saved” him at a time when he was deep into a depression. He would do anything to see her, even when his career took off.
“Wherever I went in the world, I missed her, and I’d send her tickets to come so we could be together. We just seemed to fit,” Brosnan said. “I found a great woman in Keely Shaye. Not if I searched a million times over would I find one as good.”
One of the secrets to their long-lasting marriage is that no matter how busy they are with their careers, they always make time for each other.
“My wife and I took a short road trip up to Santa Barbara – we were going for a romantic weekend and to look at houses and drink great wine. We didn’t listen to any music, but we just listened to the sounds of each other’s voices and sorted out the world.”
Over the years, Keely gained weight and people sometimes fat shame her but her husband always has her back and makes sure everyone knows he loves her the way she is. She is the great love of his life, that’s certain.
“Her friends offered her weight-loss surgery. However, I adore every curve in her physique. She is the most beautiful woman in my eyes. Additionally, she gave birth to our five children,” the actor was reported to have said.
Maybe Brosnan staying with her comes as a surprise to many simply because Hollywood marriages are not “meant” to last, but theirs is as solid as a rock.
“Keely and I love backgammon,” the Hollywood star told People. “We’re very competitive. I taught her how to play, and now she just trashes me. It’s just so annoying. It really, really, really is.”
In a new interview with Fox, the actor gave his fans a new update on their marriage – and what has been the key all these years. “We like each other a lot. We love each other a lot,” he said. “And we’ve been down the road, and we’ve seen many, many hardships as families do, as we all do.”
“But watching someone grow up with you and grow old with you is a very spiritual journey,” he continued. “To watch each other change … whatever it may be, the hair, the waist. But it’s the love in the heart.”
