Natasha Richardson, a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," died Wednesday at age 45 after suffering a head injury from a skiing accident.
Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, confirmed her death in a written statement.
"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
The statement did not give details on the cause of death for Richardson, who suffered a head injury when she fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. She was hospitalized Tuesday in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York City.
Family members had been seen coming and going from the New York hospital where Richardson was reportedly taken.
Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, arrived in a car with darkened windows and was taken through a garage when she arrived at the Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. An hour earlier, Richardson's sister, Joely, arrived alone and was swarmed by the media as she entered through the back of the hospital.
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Actress Lauren Bacall (C) arrives at the Lenox Hill Hospital to visit actress Natasha Richardson in New York March 18, 2009.
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Celebrity TV show "Entertainment Tonight" said Richardson and Neeson arrived in New York City as family members gathered.
The couple own homes in Manhattan and Millbrook, New York, north of the city. They have two sons, Daniel Jack, 12, and Michael, 13.
The actress was skiing Monday at the Mont Tremblant resort, about 75 miles north of Montreal, when she fell during a private lesson. The resort said the actress 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.
"She seemed to be fine and had no obvious injuries," resort spokeswoman Lyne Lortie told French-language public broadcaster Radio-Canada. Patrol members escorted her back to the hotel and later called an ambulance after noticing she was not well.
Richardson, whose father was the director Tony Richardson, followed her family's footsteps into a career on stage and screen.
Perhaps best known for playing Lindsay Lohan's mother in the 1998 remake of the Disney movie "The Parent Trap", Richardson has been equally at home on New York's Broadway and London's West End. She won a Tony award, Broadway's highest honor, in 1998 for her role in the musical "Cabaret."
In 1993, Richardson starred opposite Neeson in the Broadway revival of "Anna Christie," where both received Tony nominations; though neither took home an award, they fell in love and married in 1994, the same year they also appeared together in the film "Nell" opposite Jodie Foster.
