Natasha Richardson dies at 45; award-winning actress from famous theatrical family

Natasha Richardson, the luminous British actress from one of the world's great acting families, whose performances ranged from the high-brow drama "The Handmaid's Tale" to the lightweight comedy "The Parent Trap" and the Tony-winning Broadway production of "Cabaret," died Wednesday. She was 45.

The wife of "Schindler's List" actor Liam Neeson and daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late film director Tony Richardson died at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. The cause of death was not announced, but she had been hospitalized after suffering a devastating brain injury while skiing Monday.

"Liam Neeson, his sons and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," said a statement released by publicist Alan Nierob. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

Richardson was injured at Mont Tremblant, a luxury resort in Canada. The actress was taking a lesson on a beginner's run near the bottom of the ski area and was not wearing a helmet when she had what first appeared to be a minor accident.

Richardson was born in London on May 11, 1963. In addition to Redgrave, other actors in her family include sister Joely Richardson, a star of the television series "Nip/Tuck," and aunt Lynn Redgrave, whose film credits include "Georgy Girl" and "Gods and Monsters." Richardson's grandfather was legendary Shakespearean actor Michael Redgrave.

Her father was an acclaimed writer, director and producer who won the directing and best picture Oscar for 1963's "Tom Jones." Tony Richardson, who died in 1991 at age 63, also directed "Look Back in Anger" and "A Taste of Honey."

The actress' 72-year-old mother, who won the supporting actress Academy Award for 1977's "Julia," still acts in theater and film.

Just before the skiing accident, Richardson was considering a Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" with her mother, after a highly praised one-night January staging at New York's Studio 54.

Although Richardson may have come from royal show business blood, she did not try to use her ancestry to advance her career, but rather saw her family's creative business as something of a classroom.

"I know the pressures of being the daughter of a great actress," Richardson said in a 2005 interview with London's Independent newspaper. "But it's inspiring. You learn so much that other people don't get to learn until later on. My father being a director, I [learned] a real work ethic. You think: 'One day, I'd like to be as good as that.' But when I was starting out professionally, I had a level of attention put on me that I didn't deserve or wasn't ready for. And it was hard, particularly in England, to make my way."

Richardson trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, hiding her family connections, and subsequently picked up minor parts in little-known theater and television productions. In 1985, she made her West End debut, playing the troubled young actress Nina in Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull." A year later, Richardson was cast in her first prominent movie role, starring in director Ken Russell's "Gothic" as "Frankenstein" author Mary Shelley.