19/03/2009

Forty-five-year-old British actress Natasha Richardson has passed away from a brain injury that she received in a skiing accident in Canada.

Richardson was born into one of the first families of British film. Her father was the late producer/director Tony Richardson and her mother actress Vanessa Redgrave and her grandparents the actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. She was also the sister of actress Joely Richardson and the niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave.

Richardson debuted in film aged four in her father’s The Charge of the Light Brigade. In 1987, she played Mary Shelley in Ken Russell’s Gothic.

Richardson was a much-awarded actress. She won Best Actress at the Evening Standard British Film Awards in 1991 for her roles in Paul Schrader’s The Comfort of Strangers and Volker Schlöndorff’s The Handmaid’s Tale and in 2006 for David Mackenzie’s Asylum [+see also:
trailer
film profile]. She also won Best Actress at the 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, for John Irvin’s Widow’s Peak.

Her acting prowess extended to theatre with her finest moment coming in 1998 when she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall’s revival of Cabaret.

She was married to filmmaker Robert Fox from 1990-92. In 1994 she married Irish actor Liam Neeson. They have two sons – Michael and Daniel. A statement released by the family said, “Liam Neeson, his sons and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”