Natasha Richardson Dies at 45
MARCH 18, 2009 TAGS:
From the New York Times:
Natasha Richardson, a Tony Award-winning actress whose career melded glamorous celebrity with the bloodline of theater royalty, died Wednesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She had suffered head injuries in a skiing accident Monday north of Montreal, and was flown to New York on Tuesday. She was 45 and lived in Manhattan and in Millbrook, N.Y.From the AP:
"Liam Neeson, his sons (Micheal and Daniel), and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York.
It was a sudden and horrifying loss for her family and friends, for the film and theater communities, for her many fans and for both her native and adoptive countries. Descended from at least three generations of actors,
Richardson was a proper Londoner who came to love the noise of New York, an elegant blonde with large, lively eyes, a bright smile and a hearty laugh.
From the Independent (UK):
By yesterday, her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, her sister, Joely Richardson, and Neeson were leading a vigil by her bedside as reports suggested that she was indeed in a coma from which there was no hope of return.
Lauren Bacall was also seen at the hospital. News websites were reporting in the afternoon that the actress had already been taken off life support and the end could not be far away.Slide show from the Los Angeles Times
Richardson was a beloved member of a family that had the theatre and acting in the marrow of its bones. Aside from her mother, she had Corin and Lynn Redgrave as her uncle and aunt while her grandfather was the beloved master of Shakespeare and celluloid romance, Sir Michael Redgrave.
It was a pedigree that she occasionally admitted complicated her own path to self-achievement in the art.
"The names Richardson or Redgrave didn't help," she told an interviewer in 2007. "But the last thing you want is to ride any coattails, because you don't want people to be accusing you of nepotism. You want to be able to learn and practice, and not to be thrown into a spotlight before you're ready for it."
A scene from the 1998 remake of the classic film, The Parent Trap:
More coverage to come soon...
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