Natasha Richardson has died after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident. She was 45. She passed away Wednesday at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital.
“Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” Neeson’s rep said in a statement.
“They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”
Natasha Richardson was injured in a skiing accident during a private lesson on a beginners trail Monday at the Mont Tremblant resort near Montreal.
The British-born actress, who was not wearing a helmet, seemed fine at first: She had no visible injuries and was even laughing and joking after the fall.
An hour later, she complained of a headache and was taken to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe. She was later transferred to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal. Neeson, who was in Toronto shooting a movie, rushed to her side.
Richardson was held overnight and released Tuesday. Along with Neeson, she flew, via private jet, to New York, where she was hospitalized at Lenox Hill.
Tuesday evening, as the extent of Richardson’s severe head trauma left no hope for a recovery, her family gathered at her bedside to bid their farewells.
Natasha’s two sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12 – who were present Tuesday – returned Wednesday afternoon. Legendary actress Lauren Bacall was also photographed.
Despite her dire condition Wednesday (multiple news organizations had reported she was brain dead), her family members remained optimistic.
“I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. I just hope she is going to be OK,” a relative, who did not wish to be identified, said. “We’re a strong family, and Natasha is part of that family. We’re good at putting up a fight.”
Natasha Richardson, the elder daughter of late director Tony Richardson, was a revered theater actress, training at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama.
She appeared in a number of productions in London’s West End and Broadway. In 1998, she won a Tony for her role as Sally Bowles in a revival of Cabaret.
This past January, she and her mother played the roles of mother and daughter in a one-night benefit of the Stephen Sondheim Hugh Wheeler musical A Little Night Music.
Richardson also had an extensive film career, appearing The Parent Trap, Maid in Manhattan and Nell, where she met Neeson. The two wed in 1994.
Asked for her secret to a happy marriage, Richardson said last March, “I wish I could tell you I have it all figured out. You’ve got to keep working at it. You need a sense of humor and to be able to ride the waves.”
She will be remembered in her Upper West Side NYC neighborhood.
“Everybody loved her. She had an incredible sense of style and energy,” a neighbor said Tuesday night. “She filled up the room every time she walked in.”