Biography for
Natasha Richardson (I) More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

11 May 1963, London, England, UK

Date of Death

18 March 2009, New York City, New York, USA (epidural hematoma)

Birth Name

Natasha Jane Richardson

Nickname

Tasha

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Biography

Natasha Richardson made her feature film debut as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's Gothic (1986). Her performance caught the attention of director Paul Schrader, who cast her in the title role in Patty Hearst (1988). Since then, Ms. Richardson achieved notable success in such films as Pat O'Connor's A Month in the Country (1987), Roland Joffé's Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) and The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish (1991), featuring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum. For her performance in Volker Schlöndorff's The Handmaid's Tale (1990) and Schrader's The Comfort of Strangers (1990), Richardson earned The London Evening Standard Award for Best Actress of 1990; and for Widows' Peak (1994), also starring Mia Farrow and Joan Plowright, she received the Best Actress Award at the 1994 Karlovy Vary Festival.

In 1995 she co-starred with Jodie Foster and Liam Neeson in Nell (1994) and, in 1998, in The Parent Trap (1998) with Dennis Quaid. Her recent films include Blow Dry (2001) released in 2001, and Ethan Hawke's Chelsea Walls (2001).

Trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, Richardson performed extensively on stage in roles including Helena in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Ophelia in "Hamlet" at the Young Vic. In 1986 she garnered the London Drama Critics' Most Promising Newcomer Award for her performance as Nina in "The Seagull", with Vanessa Redgrave and Jonathan Pryce. In 1987 she played Tracey Lord in Richard Eyre's musical "High Society". She performed the title role of "Anna Christie", first in London, where she was voted London Drama Critics' Best Actress Award in 1992, then on Broadway at the Roundabout in 1993, where she was nominated for a Tony for Best Actress in a Play, a Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut, the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Debut of an Actress, and a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actress. For her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' production of "Cabaret", she won the 1998 Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actress in a Musical. She then appeared on Broadway in Patrick Marber's Tony-nominated play "Closer". In December 2009 she had been intended to play "Miss Julie" on Broadway with Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by David Leveaux for Roundabout Theatre.

Richardson's television credits included Henrik Ibsen's "Ghosts" for the BBC, also starring Judi Dench, Michael Gambon and Kenneth Branagh; the HBO cable feature Hostages (1993) (TV); the BBC film Suddenly, Last Summer (1993) (TV), based on the play by Tennessee Williams, and also starring Maggie Smith and Rob Lowe. In 1993 she starred as Zelda Fitzgerald in the TNT movie Zelda (1993) (TV), co-starring Timothy Hutton and directed by Pat O'Connor (cable Ace nomination for Best Actress). She played Ruth Gruber in the 2001 CBS mini-series Haven (2001) (TV) based on Ms. Gruber's autobiography.

In March 2009, she died suddenly, after falling and receiving a head injury whilst skiing in Mont Tremblant, Quebec, Canada.

IMDb Mini Biography By: jack splat

Spouse

Liam Neeson	(3 July 1994 - 18 March 2009) (her death) 2 children
Robert Fox	(15 December 1990 - 30 June 1992) (divorced)

Trivia

Won a libel case against newspapers who claimed that her marriage was in trouble. [October 1998]

Daughter of Tony Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave,

Sister of Joely Richardson

Granddaughter of actor Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson

Niece of Lynn Redgrave, Kika Markham and Corin Redgrave.

Cousin of Jemma Redgrave

Children, with Liam Neeson: Micheal Richard Antonio Neeson (born on June 22, 1995) and Daniel Jack Neeson (born on August 27, 1996).

Was a naturalized United States citizen.

Won Broadway's 1998 Tony Award as Best Actress (Musical) for a revival of "Cabaret." She was also nominated as Best Actress (Play) in 1993 for a revival of Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie."

Great-granddaughter of Roy Redgrave.

Former sister-in-law of actors James Fox and Edward Fox

Former daughter-in-law of Angela Fox

An accomplished cook, she was renowned for the lavish dinners she and husband Liam regularly threw at their upstate New York estate. Regular diners at the couple's table have included Ralph Fiennes, Griffin Dunne, Meryl Streep, and Laura Linney.

Half-sister of Carlo Gabriel Nero and Katherine Grimond.

Franco Nero gave her away at her marriage to Liam Neeson.

Suffered serious injuries while taking a private beginners skiing lesson at Mont-Tremblant, 80 miles outside Montreal. Appeared to be fine, but was eventually taken to the hospital in the afternoon of March 16 2009 at the Centre hospitalier Laurentien, in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts QC. She was transfered to ICU at the hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal later in the evening. The next day, she was transfered to Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, at her family's request, where she passed away from head injuries.

Meryl Streep was one of her very close friends.

Natasha was godmother of two of Mia Farrow's adopted children.

Her private funeral service was held in New York. Among the people in attendance were her husband Liam Neeson, their two sons, her mother Vanessa Redgrave, her sister Joely Richardson, her aunt Lynn Redgrave, Laura Linney, Ralph Fiennes, Meryl Streep, Don Gummer, Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Rickman, Holly Hunter, Mia Farrow, Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick. [March 22, 2009]

She is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in Lithgow, N.Y. USA.

Met her husband Liam Neeson when they both appeared in Eugene O'Neill's "Anna Christie" (1993) for which she was nominated for a Tony award.

Trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.

She started her career on the stage in Leeds.

At the time of her death she was planning on starring in a Broadway revival of 'A Little Night Music' with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave.

At the time of her untimely death, Richardson lived with her family in Millbrook, New York.

Personal Quotes

I wake up every morning feeling lucky - which is driven by fear, no doubt, since I know it could all go away

[speaking in 2003 about her marriage to Liam Neeson] I was told our marriage would be cursed. I thought, 'Don't let this be true'. I've thought about it since, too. I try to put it out of my mind. It was an opinion given straight to my face by someone I trusted. 'You will never be happy', he said. 'Your marriage will end in disaster'.

Where Are They Now

(March 2005) Will play the immortal role of "Blanche DuBois" in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire".

Browse biographies section by name

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z