Natasha Richardson

Natasha Richardson
Richardson at the UK premiere of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian in 2008
Born	Natasha Jane Richardson 11 May 1963(1963-05-11) London, England, United Kingdom
Died	18 March 2009(2009-03-18) (aged 45) New York City, New York, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–2009
Spouse	Robert Fox (1990–1992) Liam Neeson (1994–2009) (her death)

Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English-born naturalized American actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Early in her career she portrayed Mary Shelley and Patty Hearst in feature films, and she received critical acclaim and a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Anna Christie. She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret. Some of her notable films included Patty Hearst (1988), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), Nell (1994), The Parent Trap (1998) and Maid in Manhattan (2002).

Her first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox ended in divorce in 1992. In 1994 she married Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, whom she had met when the two appeared in Anna Christie. The couple had two sons, Micheál and Daniel. Richardson's father died of AIDS-related causes in 1991. She helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS through the charity amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research. Richardson died in 2009 following a head injury sustained when she fell during a skiing lesson in Quebec.^[1]

Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2.1 Theatre 2.2 Film 2.3 Television 3 Personal life 4 Injury and death 5 Filmography 6 Television 7 Theatre 8 References 9 External links

Early life

Richardson was born and raised in London, a member of the Redgrave family, known as a theatrical and film acting dynasty. She was the daughter of director and producer Tony Richardson and actress Vanessa Redgrave,^[2] granddaughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson,^[2][3] sister of Joely Richardson, half sister of Carlo Gabriel Nero and Katharine Grimond Hess,^[4] niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave,^[2] and cousin of Jemma Redgrave.

Richardson's parents divorced in 1967.^[5] The following year, she made her film debut at the age of four in an uncredited role in The Charge of the Light Brigade, directed by her father.^[2]

Richardson was educated in London at two leading independent schools, the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle in South Kensington, London and St. Paul's Girls' School in Hammersmith, London,^[6] before training at the Central School of Speech and Drama.^[7]

Career

Theatre

Richardson began her career in regional theatre at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Her first professional work in London's West End was in a revival of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 1985.^[8] Soon after, she starred in a London stage production of High Society, adapted from the acclaimed Cole Porter film. In 1998, she played the role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' acclaimed revival of Cabaret on Broadway, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. The following year she returned to Broadway in Closer, for which she was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, and in 2005 she appeared again with the Roundabout, this time as Blanche DuBois in their revival of Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire,^[2] opposite John C. Reilly as Stanley Kowalski.

Film

Richardson portrayed Mary Shelley in the 1986 film Gothic, a fictionalized account of the author's creation of Frankenstein. The following year she starred opposite Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in A Month in the Country, directed by Pat O'Connor. Director Paul Schrader signed her for the title role in Patty Hearst, his 1988 docudrama about the heiress and her alleged kidnapping. Her performances opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in The Handmaid's Tale and Christopher Walken, Rupert Everett, and Helen Mirren in The Comfort of Strangers (directed by Schrader) won her the 1990 Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress. She was named Best Actress at the 1994 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for Widows' Peak, and that same year appeared in Nell opposite Jodie Foster and future husband Liam Neeson. Additional film credits include The Parent Trap (1998), Blow Dry (2001), Chelsea Walls (2001), Waking Up in Reno (2002), Maid in Manhattan (2002), Asylum (2005), which won her a second Evening Standard Award for Best Actress, The White Countess (2005), and Evening (2007). Her last screen appearance was as headmistress of a girls' school in the 2008 comedy Wild Child. During the last week of January 2009, she recorded her offscreen role of the wife of climber George Mallory, who disappeared while climbing Mount Everest during a 1924 expedition, in the 2010 documentary film The Wildest Dream, for which Liam Neeson provides narration. Director Anthony Geffen described listening to the film since her death as "harrowing."^[9]

Television

Richardson made her American television debut in a small role in the 1984 CBS miniseries Ellis Island. That same year she made her UK television debut in an episode of the BBC series Oxbridge Blues. The following year she appeared as Violet Hunter alongside Jeremy Brett and David Burke in The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes, in the episode entitled "The Copper Beeches". She starred with Judi Dench, Michael Gambon, and Kenneth Branagh in a 1987 BBC adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen play Ghosts; with Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe in a 1993 BBC adaptation of Suddenly, Last Summer by Tennessee Williams; portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in the 1993 television movie Zelda; and starred in Haven (2001) on CBS and The Mastersons of Manhattan (2007) on NBC.

Personal life

Richardson's first marriage to filmmaker Robert Fox lasted from 1990 to 1992.^[10] She married Irish actor Liam Neeson in the summer of 1994 at the home they shared near Millbrook, New York;^[11] she had taken American citizenship.^[12] Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál (born 1995) and Daniel (born 1996). Richardson helped raise millions of dollars in the fight against AIDS; her father, director Tony Richardson, died of AIDS-related causes in 1991.^[13]

Richardson was actively involved in amfAR, becoming a board of trustees member in 2006, and participated in many other AIDS charities including Bailey House, God's Love We Deliver, Mothers' Voices, AIDS Crisis Trust and National AIDS Trust, for which she was an ambassador. Richardson received amfAR's Award of Courage in November 2000.^[14]

A long-time smoker^[15] and although she had reportedly quit smoking,^[16] Richardson was an outspoken opponent of the ban on smoking in New York City restaurants.^[17]

Injury and death

On 16 March 2009, Richardson sustained a head injury when she fell while taking a skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec, about 130 kilometres (81 mi) from Montreal. The injury was followed by a lucid interval, when Richardson seemed to be fine and was able to talk and act normally. Paramedics and an ambulance which initially responded to the accident were told they were not needed and left.^[18] Refusing medical attention, she returned to her hotel room and about three hours later was taken to a local hospital in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts after complaining of a headache. She was transferred from there by ambulance to Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur, Montreal, in critical condition and was admitted about seven hours after the fall.^[19][20] The following day she was flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died on 18 March.^[1] An autopsy conducted by the New York City Medical Examiners Office on 19 March revealed the cause of death was an "epidural hematoma due to blunt impact to the head", and her death was ruled an accident.^[18]

On 19 March, theatre lights were dimmed on Broadway in New York and in London's West End as a mark of respect to Richardson.^[21] The following day, a private wake was held at the American Irish Historical Society in Manhattan.^[22] On 22 March, a private funeral was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church near Millbrook, New York,^[23] close to the family's upstate home, and Richardson was buried near her grandmother Rachel in the church cemetery.^[24]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1968	The Charge of the Light Brigade	Flower girl at wedding	Uncredited appearance
1986	Gothic	Mary Shelley
1987	A Month in the Country	Alice Keach
1988	Patty Hearst	Patty Hearst
1989	Fat Man and Little Boy	Jean Tatlock
1990	The Handmaid's Tale	Kate/Offred	Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress
	The Comfort of Strangers	Mary
1991	The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish	Sybil
1992	Past Midnight	Laura Mathews
1994	Nell	Dr. Paula Olsen
	Widows' Peak	Mrs Edwina Broome	Karlovy Vary International Film Festival — Best Actress
1998	The Parent Trap	Elizabeth James
2001	Blow Dry	Shelley Allen
	Chelsea Walls	Mary
2002	Waking Up In Reno	Darlene Dodd
	Maid in Manhattan	Caroline Lane
2005	The White Countess	Countess Sofia Belinskya
	Asylum	Stella Raphael	Executive producer Evening Standard British Film Awards — Best Actress Nominated — British Independent Film Awards — Best Actress
2007	Evening	Constance Lord
2008	Wild Child	Mrs. Kingsley	Final film appearance
2010	The Wildest Dream	Ruth Mallory (wife of George Mallory)	Voice only, final performance, Liam Neeson narrated.[9]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Oxbridge Blues	Gabriella
1985	The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes	Violet Hunter	Episode — "The Copper Beeches"
1987	Ghosts	Regina
1993	Zelda	Zelda Fitzgerald
	Hostages	Jill Morrell
	Suddenly Last Summer	Catharine Holly
1996	Tales from the Crypt	Fiona Havisham
2001	Haven	Ruth Gruber
2007	Mastersons of Manhattan	Victoria Masterson
2008	Top Chef	Guest Judge

Theatre

Year	Production	Role	Notes
1983	On the Razzle
	Top Girls
	Charley's Aunt
1985	The Seagull	Nina	Plays and Players - Most Promising Newcomer Award
	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Helena
	Hamlet	Ophelia
1987	High Society	Tracy
1993	Anna Christie	Anna	London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award (London production) Outer Critics Circle Award — Outstanding Debut of an Actress Theatre World Award — Outstanding Debut Nominated — Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
1998	Cabaret	Sally Bowles	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Outer Critics Circle Award Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical
1999	Closer	Anna
2003	The Lady from the Sea
2005	A Streetcar Named Desire	Blanche DuBois

References

External links

• Natasha Richardson at the Internet Broadway Database
• Natasha Richardson at the Internet Movie Database
• Natasha Richardson at Allmovie
• Natasha Richardson at Yahoo! Movies
• Natasha Richardson at Find a Grave
• Natasha Richardson - Daily Telegraph obituary

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical Angela Lansbury (1975) · Donna McKechnie (1976) · Clamma Dale (1977) · Nell Carter (1978) · Angela Lansbury (1979) · Patti LuPone (1980) · Lena Horne (1981) · Jennifer Holliday (1982) · Natalia Makarova (1983) · Chita Rivera (1984) · Bernadette Peters (1986) · Teresa Stratas (1987) · Patti LuPone (1988) · Toni DiBuono (1989) · Tyne Daly (1990) · Lea Salonga (1991) · Faith Prince (1992) · Chita Rivera (1993) · Donna Murphy (1994) · Glenn Close (1995) · Julie Andrews (1996) · Bebe Neuwirth (1997) · Natasha Richardson (1998) · Carolee Carmello / Bernadette Peters (1999) · Heather Headley (2000)  · (1975-2000) · (2001-present)

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical Donna McKechnie (1976) · Dorothy Loudon (1977) · Liza Minnelli (1978) · Angela Lansbury (1979) · Patti LuPone (1980) · Lauren Bacall (1981) · Jennifer Holliday (1982) · Natalia Makarova (1983) · Chita Rivera (1984) · Bernadette Peters (1986) · Maryann Plunkett (1987) · Joanna Gleason (1988) · Ruth Brown (1989) · Tyne Daly (1990) · Lea Salonga (1991) · Faith Prince (1992) · Chita Rivera (1993) · Donna Murphy (1994) · Glenn Close (1995) · Donna Murphy (1996) · Bebe Neuwirth (1997) · Natasha Richardson (1998) · Bernadette Peters (1999) · Heather Headley (2000)  · (1948-1975) · (1976-2000) · (2001-present)

Persondata
Name	Richardson, Natasha
Alternative names	Richardson, Natasha Jane
Short description	English actress
Date of birth	1963-05-11
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death	2009-03-18
Place of death	New York City, New York, United States