Heartache for Richard E Grant as his mum dies aged 93 with actor sharing his ‘complicated gratitude’ in touching video

RICHARD E Grant has shared an emotional and heartfelt tribute to his mother who sadly passed away aged 93.

The actor, 66, expressed his “gratitude” for what his mother taught him, and giving him the gift of life.

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In a video message uploaded on Twitter, he admitted he had always shared an “incredibly complicated” relationship with mother Leonne Esterhuysen.

He said: “I saw that I had eight missed calls from Africa and knew immediately why, which proved to be that my 93-year-old mother died this morning.

“We had an incredibly complicated relationship, and she was somebody that was, for me anyway, emotionally withdrawn and withheld approbation or approval of anything.

“Nothing was ever quite good enough but what that proved to be was a great motor for ambition and determination, to try and prove yourself and be the best you possibly can.

“And, yet ironically, whatever she did she demanded and got applause and approval from everyone around her, including me.”

He also explained that six weeks after his wife, Joan Washington, tragically passed away from lung cancer in September 2021, he spent some time staying with his mum.

Richard and Joan had shared 35 happy years, before she died at the age of 74, and she had a son, Tom, from a previous relationship.

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After staying with his mum following the travesty, she later sent him an email which read: “‘I regret to say all of this was an absolute disaster.

“‘We only have two things in common, books and classical music’.

“So whereas she was not psychically tactile, I’ve gone the opposite extreme and been a very tactile loving father and husband,” he continued.

“Do I feel sadness that she has died, I feel resignation more than anything, but most of all gratitude for having given me life.”

He smiled as he looked away from the camera and appeared to reflect on his relationship with his late mother and his own family.

The actor has spoken previously about the complicated dynamic between himself and Leonne.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs about his prolonged estrangement from her when he discovered her cheating on his father.

Grant also shared that his father had turned to drinking after their divorce, and their relationship became incredibly strained.

“Having said that, my memory of him is so much more than remembering that part of him, because I knew that that was something that was entirely brought about by addiction rather than the man that I absolutely worshipped and loved,” he told the BBC radio show.