--- description: "You have to continue to live," she said. title: Robin Williams's Daughter Zelda Speaks Out on Losing Her Dad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6fdff4497c6f739/6987815da988ca64a36acb54/robin-williams-zelda-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [celebrities](/tag/celebrities/) ## celebrities Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Speaks Out on Losing Her Dad by [Michele Corriston / People](/author/people/) ## Michele Corriston / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2015 2:16 PM CUT  Zelda Williams and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' "Old Dogs" in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2009. Zelda Williams and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' "Old Dogs" in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2009.Michael Caulfield—WireImage/Getty Images by [Michele Corriston / People](/author/people/) ## Michele Corriston / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2015 2:16 PM CUT When beloved comedian [Robin Williams](http://www.people.com/people/package/0,,20842912,00.html "undefined") took his own life in August 2014, his fans, costars and loved ones all had one question: Why? But [his daughter](http://www.people.com/article/robin-williams-zelda-williams "undefined") Zelda Williams says there’s no point in trying to determine what [drove the actor to suicide](http://www.people.com/article/robin-williams-dead-of-suicide "undefined") at age 63. “It’s not important to ask,” Williams, 25, said through tears while speaking out for the first time since her father’s death to NBC News correspondent Kate Snow. “A lot of people who have been through it and lost someone, the ones that I’ve found who have gone on to lead very full lives, found that they just had to know that there’s no point questioning it,” she said in the segment, which aired on the _Today_ show Thursday, “and there’s no point blaming everyone else for it, and there’s no point blaming yourself or the world or whatever the case may be, because it happened, so you have to continue to move and you have to continue to live and manage.” Instead, the young actress is focused on carrying out the charitable causes near and dear to her dad’s heart. On Friday, she’ll present a Noble Award for the Challenged Athletes Foundation and establish the Robin Williams Fund. ### Robin Williams' Life in Pictures  Robin Williams in the 8th grade at Detroit Country Day School in Birmingham, Mich. in 1965. Courtesy Williams Family  In the 8th grade, Robin Williams, #15, played on the basketball team at Detroit Country Day School. Seth Poppel—Yearbook Library  Robin Williams in high school. Courtesy Robin Williams  Williams' played the spinach-loving sailor Popeye in its eponymous 1980 film. Paramount/AP  Robin Williams in September of 1981 Steve Ringman—San Francisco Chronicle/Corbis  Robin Williams with his mom, Laurie Williams, during the premiere of "Moscow on The Hudson" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif in 1984. Ron Galella—Wire Image/Getty Images  Robin Williams and Christopher Reeve at Silver Friedman's "The Original Improvisation" in New York in 1988. Jim Demetropoulos—Retna Ltd./Corbis  Robin Williams, third from right, dressed as a cheerleader on Nov. 12, 1979 with the Broncos' Pony Express cheerleaders during the filming of an episode of "Mork & Mindy," in Denver. AP  Robin Williams played radio DJ Adrian Cronauer in director Barry Levinson's comedy drama, Good Morning Vietnam in 1987. Touchstone Pictures/AP  Williams taught a generation to seize the day, to make their lives extraordinary, as John Keating in Dead Poets Society. Buena Vista Pictures  Williams played a grown up version of Peter Pan in the 1991 family classic Hook. TriStar Pictures  Williams lent his substantial talents to voicing Genie in Disney's 1992 animated film Aladdin. Disney  Household chores were no match for Robin Williams as he donned layers of prosthetics to play Mrs. Doubtfire in the 1993 movie of the same name. 20th Century Fox  Williams starred as Alan Parrish, a boy stuck inside a board game for twenty-six years in the 1995 film Jumanji. TriStar Pictures  Starring opposite a young Matt Damon, Williams played Dr. Sean Maguire, in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting. Miramax  Williams played a living android in the 1999 film Bicentennial Man. Buena Vista  Williams took on the likeness of Teddy Roosevelt in Ben Stiller's Night at the Museum. 20th Century Fox  Robin Williams and his family are seen with their dogs on May 2005\. From left to right: Kiwi (poodle), son Cody Williams, Robin Williams, daughter Zelda Williams, Marsha Williams and Mizu (poodle) Lacy Atkins—Emily Scott Pottruck/Trails of Devotion As for his comedic legacy, Williams said she has been touched by the outpouring of support from the public. “They knew a dad that he was proud of them knowing because he was an incredibly kind and incredibly caring man, and he was also private and very calm and very subdued,” she said. “The side of him that people know and love and that is attached to their childhood is the characters that he had so much fun being, and that’s what’s important, and I think that’s what a lot of people will hold on to.” Williams also explained the meaning behind [her new tattoo](http://www.people.com/article/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-tattoo "undefined")(“Hummingbirds are fun and flighty and strange – it’s hard to keep them in one place, and Dad was a bit like that”) and how she hopes to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health. “People are finally starting to approach talking about illnesses that people can’t really see,” she said. “Nothing happens immediately, but I think we’re on our way.” [_This article originally appeared on People.com_](http://www.people.com/article/zelda-williams-robin-williams-today-show "undefined") _Read next:_ [_The Dress That Broke the Internet, and the Woman Who Started It All_](http://time.com/3725628/the-dress-caitlin-mcneill-post-tumblr-viral/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/"},"headline":"Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Speaks Out on Losing Her Dad","datePublished":"2015-02-27T14:16:33.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:21.319Z","description":"\"You have to continue to live,\" she said.","url":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/","keywords":["celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6fdff4497c6f739/6987815da988ca64a36acb54/robin-williams-zelda-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Michele Corriston / People"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb6fdff4497c6f739/6987815da988ca64a36acb54/robin-williams-zelda-williams.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Zelda Williams and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' \"Old Dogs\" in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2009.","caption":"Zelda Williams and Robin Williams arrive at the premiere of Walt Disney Pictures' \"Old Dogs\" in Hollywood, Calif. on Nov. 9, 2009.","creditText":"Michael Caulfield—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/celebrities/","name":"celebrities"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/","name":"Robin Williams' Daughter Zelda Speaks Out on Losing Her Dad"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"10 Questions for Robin Williams","description":"The comedian and actor talks about playing a tiger in his first Broadway role, the war in Iraq and why it isn't always a good thing to be funny","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/e5SUiinR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2011-04-14T23:39:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/e5SUiinR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/","duration":"PT5M56S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3725760/robin-williams-daughter-zelda-loss/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```