Natasha Richardson, 45; part of acting dynasty, won Tony Award
WASHINGTON - Natasha Richardson, a glamorous and talented member of a British acting dynasty and wife of actor Liam Neeson, died yesterday from head injuries suffered while she was skiing. She was 45.
Ms. Richardson had fallen on a beginners' slope on Mont Tremblant near Montreal during a ski lesson Monday 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.
"Liam Neeson, his sons [Micheal and Daniel], and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," a statement from the family said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love, and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
Ms. Richardson was the daughter of Academy Award-winning actress and human rights activist Vanessa Redgrave and Oscar-winning director and producer Tony Richardson ("Tom Jones"). 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."
Ms. Richardson might have been overshadowed by the public profile of her family, but she 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 she starred in a variety of film, television, and stage productions, ranging from Blanche Du Bois in Tennessee Williams's "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2005) on Broadway to a Disney remake of "The Parent Trap" (1998).
As a young woman, Ms. 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 a 1993 revival of the Eugene O'Neill waterfront story "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 she'll show you something new."
In addition to Schrader's "Patty Hearst" (1988), in which she played the title heiress-turned-terrorist, and the psychological thriller "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), Ms. Richardson starred in movie dramas including "A Month in the Country" (1987) with Colin Firth, "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990) with Robert Duvall, and "Widows' Peak" (1994) with Neeson.
Film scholar David Kipen said of Ms. Richardson: "As an heir to the Redgrave theatrical and film dynasty, she was the British Drew Barrymore - if Barrymore had better taste in roles and men. Richardson radiated intelligence in everything she did. She won raves for Shakespeare, Chekhov, O'Neill, Williams, and Ibsen, and she could sing besides. If the movies never knew quite what to do with her, that strikes me more as the medium's fault than hers."
Natasha Jane Richardson was born in London and made her stage debut at 4, directed by her father and playing her mother's bridesmaid in the movie "The Charge of the Light Brigade." The marriage ended around that time because of Tony Richardson's infidelities. He died of AIDS-related complications in 1991.
She debuted in London's West End theater district as Nina in a 1985 revival of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" that starred her mother. It was a daunting way to start her professional 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."
During the show's run, she began a relationship with "Seagull" producer Robert Fox, and they married. She left him to marry Neeson, with whom she appeared in "Anna Christie." In addition to her mother, husband, and sons, she leaves a sister, actress Joely Richardson.
Ms. Richardson's early film roles included "Gothic" (1986), a sexually provocative drama directed by Ken Russell. She played the mistress of atomic scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer in "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1988) and a court-appointed psychiatrist in "Nell" (1994), starring Jodie Foster, and was the troubled Catharine in a public television version of Tennessee Williams's "Suddenly, Last Summer" (1993) with Maggie Smith.
In "Cabaret" she took on the role of Sally Bowles, the singing-and-dancing lead that Liza Minnelli played in the 1972 movie.
"The cool and elegant Ms. Richardson might at first seem an odd choice for Sally Bowles, the party girl who stays the same as the Nazis ascend and Germany changes around her," The New York Times reported. "Ms. Richardson, after all, is an actress whose characters develop, and who radiates intelligence."
Ms. Richardson told the Times that she conjured a somewhat different Sally: "I think there is a character journey she has. She goes from a ditzy girl with stars in her eyes, who just wants that life of glory and fun, to being somebody who becomes conscious of herself and her situation and makes a choice knowing it will probably destroy her."
Accepting her Tony Award for best actress in a musical, Ms. Richardson said, "This has been the most terrifying and the most thrilling journey of my life."
Material from Bloomberg News was used in this obituary. 