High Potential star Kaitlin Olson is mourning the death of her dad, Don Olson.
“Honestly, it feels a little gross to bring this to social media. It’s too fragile and too private,” Kaitlin, 50, wrote via Instagram on Monday, May 18. “But nothing feels more wrong than to just move on with life as if the worst thing in the world didn’t happen. As if everything that matters didn’t just suddenly end.”
The actress paid tribute to her father by calling him “my first love, my first protector and my forever favorite person.”
She continued, “He fought so hard and so long to stay with us. I hate words right now. None are good enough to describe who he was. The luckiest thing to happen to me in this lifetime was getting him as my dad. Maybe the second was the gift of holding him on his way out.”
Hollywood mourned the deaths of some of its most legendary stars in 2026. The year started off with Broadway performer and influencer Bret Hanna-Shuford’s death at age 46. At the end of the month, comedy acting icon Catherine O’Hara died at age 71. In February, Designing Women’s Camilla Carr died at age 83, Dawson’s Creek […]
As part of her post, Kaitlin shared several family members captured in throwback photos. One shot was a photo of the actress holding her dad’s hand.
“I love you, daddy,” she concluded her post. “I will keep all my promises. Just like you.”
Soon after sharing her personal family news, Kaitlin received love and encouragement from friends and followers.
Kaitlin Olson and Don Olson Courtesy of Kaitlin Olson/Instagram
“My deepest condolences on the loss of your beloved father,” Abbott Elementary star Lisa Ann Walter shared in the comments section. Garret Dillahunt added, “Oh my dear. Nothing more sad or glorious than generations changing hands. Thank you for sharing your pop with us. What a daughter he raised. No words will suffice ❤️❤️.”
One powerful comment came from Kaitlin’s own husband, Rob McElhenney, who shared his fond memories of being Don’s son-in-law.
“Words are impossible. There is no one like him. My whole goal in life is to be half the man he was,” McElhenney, 49, shared in the comments section. “I’ve never seen a person love someone the way he loved you. I am so grateful that he lived and so proud that I got to be his son for the past 17 years ❤️ ❤️ ❤️.”
Kaitlin Olson’s husband, Rob McElhenney, can sometimes be her biggest critic, which is why she was “so nervous” for him to watch her new show, High Potential. “We are both very critical of entertainment and projects. I was very nervous to show it to him,” Olson, 49, told Us Weekly exclusively at the High Potential […]
According to the Portland Tribune, Don previously served as the publisher of the newspaper from 2000 to 2001.
When asked about his daughter’s career trajectory, Don praised Kaitlin for always having “passion.”
“At college, I suggested — a couple of times — that she pursue a second career,” he said in 2017. “Something to fall back on, but she remained singularly focused on her passion.”