Natasha Richardson,a glamorous and talented member of a British acting dynasty and wife of actor Liam Neeson,died from head injuries on March 18 suffered while she was skiing. She was 45. She fell on a beginners slope near Montreal during a ski lesson March 16 and initially appeared coherent,but an hour later she complained of a headache. As her condition worsened dramatically,she was flown to a hospital near her home in New York City,where her family gathered. She was the daughter of Academy Award-winning actress and human rights activist Vanessa Redgrave and the Oscar-winning director and producer Tony Richardson. Her maternal grandparents were the actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Her aunt is actress Lynn Redgrave,with whom Natasha Richardson and her mother appeared in the 2005 Merchant-Ivory production The White Countess. Richardson was widely respected for the high quality and versatility of her performances. She won a Tony Award for a 1998 revival of the musical Cabaret,in which she played the bohemian showgirl Sally Bowles,and starred in a variety of film,television and stage productions,ranging from Blanche Du Bois in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway to a Disney remake of The Parent Trap in Hollywood. As a young woman,Richardson was considered one of the most promising actresses of her generation and earned a reputation as a specialist in formidable dramatic parts. She received a Tony nomination and outstanding notices for her lead role as a woman with a dark past in Anna Christie. She was a statuesque blonde with a smoky voice,and director Paul Schrader,who cast her in several movies,once noted how she had an essential quality of mystery about her. You can watch her for the better part of two hours,and still think that shell show you something new. In addition to Schraders Patty Hearst,in which she played the title heiress-turned-terrorist,and the psychological thriller The Comfort of Strangers,Richardson starred in movie dramas including A Month in the Country,The Handmaids Tale and Widows Peak. She made some attempts to raise her income and public recognition,appearing in The Parent Trap,with Lindsay Lohan,and Maid in Manhattan as a frosty socialite opposite a hotel maid played by Jennifer Lopez. Film scholar David Kipen said of Richardson: Richardson radiated intelligence in everything she did. She won raves for Shakespeare,Chekhov,ONeill,Williams and Ibsen,and she could sing besides. Natasha Jane Richardson was born in London on May 11,1963. She made her stage debut at 4,directed by her father and playing her mothers bridesmaid in The Charge of the Light Brigade. The marriage ended around that time because of Tonys infidelities. At 17,Natasha passed her audition at Londons Central School of Speech and Drama without revealing her true name. She debuted in Londons West End theatre district as Nina in a 1985 revival of Anton Chekhovs The Seagull that starred her mother. It was a daunting way to start her career,but she later told the New York Times: If you jump in at the deep end,you only have to swim to the shallow end. But if you jump in at the shallow end,the deep end seems awfully far away. Survivors include Neeson,and their two sons; her mother; and a sister Joely Richardson.
