Getty Kate and Bea
Kate Spade’s daughter Bea, a nickname for Frances Beatrix, is 13 years old. The teen was extremely close with her mom, and is said to be “devastated,” according to her father.
On Tuesday, June 6, Kate Spade was found dead in her home on Park Avenue in New York. Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Spade was found by her housekeeper around 10:20 a.m. She was on the floor of her bedroom and had a red scarf around her neck. The scarf was affixed to the closet doorknob.
She was “unresponsive and cold to the touch,” when she was found. She was pronounced dead at the home and was taken out via stretcher, her body covered with a white sheet.
Frances Beatrix was at school at the time, according to the Associated Press. According to TMZ, a note for “Bea” was left on Spade’s bed, not far from her body.
“Bea – I have always loved you. This is not your fault. Ask Daddy,” the note read in part, according to TMZ.
Andy Spade explained that he hasn’t seen the note that the media has shared with the public.
“I have yet to see any note left behind and am appalled that a private message to my daughter has been so heartlessly shared with the media. My main concern is Bea and protecting her privacy as she deals with the unimaginable grief of losing her mother,” he wrote.
Kate and Andy Spade only had one child together. They welcomed Frances in 2005. There are very few photos of Frances online, as her parents shielded her from the public eye as best they could. The photos that are available show a very sweet young child, who had a sweet relationship with her mother, as most young girls do.
Most of the pictures are from years ago. You can see some below.
The photo below shows Kate Spade with a young Frances.
‘This is not your fault’: Kate Spade tells daughter in heartbreaking suicide note t.co/dI0VfR0P1s
The photos below show Kate Spade with her husband, Andy. The photo of the left shows the couple with Frances, who looks to be about 4 or 5 years old. The photo on the right shows the Spades in happier times. Sources told TMZ that the couple had hit a rough patch and that Andy Spade wanted a divorce. However, Andy Spade released a statement in which he acknowledged the separation, but explained that divorce wasn’t on the table.
“For the past 10 months we had been living separately, but within a few blocks of each other. Bea was living with both of us and we saw each other or spoke every day. We ate many meals together as a family and continued to vacation together as a family. Our daughter was our priority. We were not legally separated, and never even discussed divorce. We were best friends trying to work through our problems in the best way we knew how. We were together for 35 years. We loved each other very much and simply needed a break,” Andy Spade wrote in his statement to the New York Times.
Who Are Kate Spade’s Husband and Daughter, Andy and Frances Beatrix? t.co/BldAL2gZmt
The next photo appears to be the most recent one of Frances that the media has uncovered since Kate Spade’s tragic passing.
“We were co-parenting our beautiful daughter. … Kate loved Bea so very much,” Andy Spade ended the statement.
