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Liam Neeson's wife Natasha Richardson dies
Thursday, 19 March 2009
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Natasha Richardson was declared dead at the Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan after her condition deteriorated rapidly following a fall at the Quebec resort of Mont Tremblant on Monday.
Her family, including Ballymena-born husband Liam Neeson, mother Vanessa Redgrave, sister Joely Richardson and sons Micheál and Daniel, were at the hospital when she died just before midnight.
Liam’s publicist, Alan Nierob, 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.”
Throughout yesterday, a number of increasingly grim reports suggested that the 45-year-old actress, who had been married to superstar Ulster actor Neeson for nearly 15 years, was slipping away.
“There is no chance,” a family friend said. “Her heart is beating, but she is brain dead.”
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With her Ballymena-born husband, mother and sister at her side, Natasha Richardson passed away in a New York hospital last night after a day of increasingly grim reports that she was in a deep coma from which she was unlikely to return.
As reporters and television cameras converged at the main entrance of the Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, family representatives issued a brief statement saying that 45-year-old Ms Richardson had died.
The statment said simply that Liam and the couple’s son were “shock 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.”
All day the silence from both the family and the hospital had seemed ominous, as if confirming the growing numbers of reports that Ms Richardson, who suffered what at first seemed a straightforward fall when skiing on a bunny slope in the Quebec resort of Mont Tremblant on Monday afternoon, was brain dead and beyond recovery.
Among those seen entering the New York hospital during the day were the actress’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and her sister, Joely Richardson. It appeared that the family was preparing to face the most agonising of all dilemmas — when to end life support.
“There is no chance,” a family friend had been quoted in People magazine. “It is a fact that her heart is beating, but she is brain dead.” The magazine’s website referred to the actress suffering a “devastating head injury”.
Liam had travelled with her aboard an executive jet from Montreal to New York on Tuesday. He was seen by Canadian reporters crouched inside the ambulance that took her from the Montreal hospital to the plane. His wife was wrapped in blankets with tubes around her face.
The French-language newspaper in Montreal, La Presse, said that a source at the Sacre Coeur Hospital had confirmed Ms Richardson had fallen into a “profound and irreversible coma”.
Another anonymous family friend said her condition amounted to “leakage of blood between the brain and skull”, adding that she had been flown to New York on Tuesday to allow family and friends the chance to say farewell. “It’s not official yet,” the source added, “but they basically will detach her”.
The celebrity news website TMZ corroborated the dire prognosis, reporting alleged intelligence gleaned during the ambulance ride from the New York airport to Lenox Hill, which described the actress as “unconscious” with “non-reactive pupils”.
Ms Richardson had been taking a skiing lesson at Mont Tremblant when the fall happened. At first she stood up, declared herself fit and returned to her hotel room. She was accompanied by a member of the resort’s ski patrol, however, and was taken to hospital after admitting to a bad headache one hour later.
She had reportedly travelled to the resort on Sunday with her two teenage boys to ski while Liam worked on the set of his next film, Chloe, in Toronto. The couple live in New York City and have a country home in the Hudson Valley.
In New York, both Natasha and Liam, whom she married in 1994, had become highly popular regulars on the social and charity season, particular among some Irish-Americans. The actress also secured herself a special place in New York following her widely applauded portrayal of Sally Bowles in the revival of Cabaret in 1998, for which was given a Tony Award.
She was also a member of the fourth generation of the Redgrave clans, arguably the most distinguished of Britain’s theatrical dynasties.
The accident has already igniting fresh debate about skiing and the need or otherwise for adults as well as children to wear helmets.
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Comments
39 Comments
Nothing will replace a lost love, a love held so deeply.
Holding tightly, memories that bring comfort may be all that can be done.
Allowing time to caress your pain, and sharing memories,
until a measure of happiness, finds a way to gently support you
I lost some one close to me, & its taken two years for some normality to find me again.
my thoughts are with you, as are those of so many...
Posted by sheila | 06.09.09, 17:36 GMT
Dear Familey and friends,
I am a huge fan of Liam and Natasha's work, i love watching the diversity of your work.
No words can describe what you are going through even now months on from you losing your beloved Natasha, I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers are with you all.
I will always remember her and will always be a fan.
xxxxxxx forever in my thoughts
Posted by melanie hill | 12.08.09, 20:04 GMT
Dear Mr. Neeson,
Your performances have touched our hearts.
Now your pain has touched us deeply.
Sincerely,
Mr. and Mrs. Aguilera
Prescott Valley, Arizona
Posted by Mr. and Mrs. Aguilera | 27.05.09, 06:02 GMT
To the family of Natasha Richardson, husband Liam, sons and mother: This Grief, it is heavy, thick and opaque, senseless and impossible. The love, legacy and hope is in the children that are living and share the spirit and genetic being of their mother and father. May your lives be rich in love, laughter and honor the mother and wife that Natasha embodied so well. May your suffering be illuminating as to what is most precious on this earth. Please live fully to honor your mother and wife and become the best people you can become. Your fear, loss, confusion, changes and depth of love are the common denominator in all our lives.
May you find peace through healthy endeavors.
Posted by Antonietta | 08.05.09, 19:26 GMT
i couldnt believe when i heard this , i was in tears :(
such a lovely women , its devistating that this happened.
you have my love and prayers for you and your son to pull thru and stay strong through these difficult times.
god bless you all XXXXX
Posted by mike | 18.04.09, 16:59 GMT
Liam& Family- Our hearts and prayers are with you - To lose a beautiful person as lovely as Natasha. The Lord gave her to you and the wonderful memories . When it was time for her to go home- He wanted you to remember the love she bestowed in your hearts and the qualities she instilled. She will always be in your heart and your son's. Angels are all around us- and so will she. When you see the love and the hurt even tho you didn't know this family personally, you still have heartfelt sympathy and would like to let the family know they are in your prayers and you feel their pain to let them know- God Bless you and your family! Stay close to the Lord in prayers!
Posted by Nancy Armstrong | 28.03.09, 18:37 GMT
When will it ring, I wait each day
the small screen bears no name
keep ringing let me know your fine
The screen is blank , you never came,
Ill wait to hear your voice again,
Just one call to let me know,
that you are safe , will watch over us,
And then Ill let you go.
This modern world can do such things
To keep us close forever,
Dont need a cell phone to remember you.
As your in my heart forever.... hope Liam likes the words xxx
Posted by Donna from Glasgow | 27.03.09, 15:34 GMT
Dear Mr. Neeson,
I am only one of many fans, and the reason it has taken me so long to write is because all of this movie star stuff can get so trite and foolish. But you and your family have been such a good example of how we all should behave. And I have been moved to tell you how touched I am by your bravery. I send you heartfelt condolence. I am so sorry for your loss. Know that a thousand prayers have been sent on your behalf and mine are among them. Thank-you for behaving in such a generous manner . I shall try to remember and follow your example when lifes' twist and turns. Thank-you for giving dear Natasha's organs away. She must be soooo proud. I know she is hugging you from heaven. These pages are for us to "get it out" but I will do my best to remember you and Natasha's charities, and work harder at my own. Your sharing so Publicly your grief and mourning gives me an example to follow and comfort as I face my own lifes' losses. May God Bless You and Keep You.
Posted by Karen Churchill-Hairston | 27.03.09, 15:22 GMT
Mr. Neeson, I am still shocked and deeply sad over the death of your beautiful and talented wife. She was a terrific actress and a very classy, gentle lady. I will miss seeing more of her diverse acting skills. My deep sympathy to you, your children, Vanessa Redgrave and Joely Richardson. I’m so sorry for your loss.
Posted by Suzanne Moreno | 24.03.09, 03:11 GMT
May she rest in peace.
Posted by Ann Murphy | 22.03.09, 21:39 GMT
I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful wife. Your life will never be the same again but it will be henceforth enriched by the sole fact that Natahsa was in your life. Let family and friends comfort you. Let God console you and heal you.
Posted by Sarah | 22.03.09, 11:22 GMT
She was a remarkable woman and a remarkable actress who didnt get nearly enough good roles and whos best film roles were yet ahead of her. Her cinema presence will be missed, she was a class act and Liam was a truly a blessed man for the time that she was in his life. slumdog millionaire box office
My thoughts and prayers go out to Liam and his children and to Mrs. Redgrave, Natashas mother, no mother should ever have to bury her child.
Posted by stephen voss | 22.03.09, 00:21 GMT
My deepest sympathies to the family. God will help you through this.
Posted by Judy | 21.03.09, 23:46 GMT
I want to let the family of Natasha know that my prayers are with all of you at this difficult time. God has her in Heaven and I bet she will alwasys be your Guardian Angel forever.
Jeri
Posted by rosiesophia77@gmail.com | 21.03.09, 20:09 GMT
We send our very deepest sympathy to the family of Natasha Richardson. She wwill always be lovingly remembered as a great treasure to the world of the theatre and a truly wonderful daughter, wife and mother of two very special boys. Her legacy and great talent, as a member of two extraordinary acting families, will live on forever.
Posted by Joan and Carl Lawrence | 21.03.09, 05:16 GMT
we were so saddened and sorry to hear of the tragic death of Natasha. our thoughts are with Liam and the boys and this Sunday wont be a happy mothers day for them. hope they all find strength and comfort in the prayers that are for them.
Posted by alexandra ball | 20.03.09, 17:53 GMT
To Liam and family,
If you should read this please know that millions who do not 'know' you certainly feel your pain and wish to carry you with love through this nightmare. We could see the love you felt for each other and feel terrible. Nothing seems adequate to console you over the loss of your beloved Natasha. The world has less light and beauty. Hugs to all of you in pain.
Posted by Rebecca Janelli | 20.03.09, 05:13 GMT
I am so sorry for you loss, no words can I say can heal your pain. Please know that you and your family are in prays.
Posted by Gina | 20.03.09, 04:08 GMT
I've ever done this before, but i feel sad because of your loss. And i have felt the need of telling you, even you would never read it. I send you all my support, my most deeply condolence and hope you'll be able to gather all strenght you need, and your family need, to go through this and raise again to honor her the way she have deserved.
Posted by JOSE LUIS JOLO | 20.03.09, 02:30 GMT
Another shining star none of us have ever met is soaring with the angels. Yes it is desperately sad but tragedies like this and Goody happen every minute of every day. Do you people just walk the streets wringing your hands and wailing all day? Or is it just celebrities you care about?
Steve: "Writeing this is tough, seeing through the tears", tell me thats sarcasm...
Posted by kwilson | 19.03.09, 22:01 GMT
39 Comments