Foto: Natasha Richardson/reuters
LOS ANGELES - Award-winning actress Natasha Richardson, a member of Britain's Redgrave acting dynasty, died on Wednesday at age 45 after a suffering a severe brain injury in a skiing accident in Canada earlier this week.
Richardson had been hospitalized in New York since Tuesday, surrounded by her husband, actor Liam Neeson, her two sons Michael, 13, and Daniel Jack, 12, and members of her immediate family including her mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave.
"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," family spokesman Alan Nierob said in a statement.
Richardson followed her Oscar-winning mother and her father, the late film director Tony Richardson, into a career on stage and screen in England and the United States. She won Broadway's Tony Award in the 1998 musical revival, "Cabaret."
Richardson was injured on Monday when she fell on a beginners slope during a private ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant resort, about 75 miles north of Montreal.
A spokeswoman for the resort said she appeared to be in good condition after the fall, but her instructor called a ski patrol to take her to the bottom of the hill.
About an hour later, she complained of severe headaches and was admitted to a local medical facility before eventually being transferred to a Montreal hospital where she was diagnosed with severe brain trauma.
Tuesday afternoon with Neeson by her side she was flown to New York and admitted to the Lenox Hill Hospital where her family rushed to her bedside in her final hours.
