A Story That Ended Too Soon
Born into an acting dynasty, Natasha Richardson lived the sort of golden life that so many can only dream of. She had all you could desire: the career, the fame, and the man. However, the most beautiful things are often the most fragile. At the height of her career, Richardson lost everything, leaving only tragedy and heartbreak in her wake.
1. She Was A Nepo Baby
Even before she entered the world, Natasha Richardson’s destiny included greatness. The first of two daughters born to Vanessa Redgrave and Tony Richardson, Natasha Richardson inherited the wealth and influence of an entertainment industry dynasty before she took her first breath. However, even that wasn’t enough to save her in the end.
2. Her Family Was Stacked
Not only was Richardson’s mother a well-respected actress, and her father an influential director and producer, but her maternal grandparents were also both talented actors. Growing up, Richardson was quickly surrounded by the best of the best in the entertainment industry. Her path seemed inevitable, and maybe that was the problem.
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
3. She Suffered Early
Richardson’s life was not without its early hardships. Her parents divorced two years after the birth of her younger sister, Joely, when Richardson was four years old. However, this proved only a minor setback, as both her parents continued to give Richardson a helping hand, especially her father. Yet, was it a hand she even wanted?
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
4. She Got A Helping Hand
Having a father who is a producer and director can open a lot of doors for you. Everyone likely expected the Richardson girls to go into acting one day. Even so, they may have been surprised when Tony gave his elder daughter a helping hand into the business before she was barely out of diapers.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
5. She Started Young
Richardson appeared in her first film at the age of four. She appeared in an uncredited role in The Charge of the Light Brigade, a film that her father directed. This early taste of the film industry proved intoxicating for Richardson, for it wasn’t long before she began pursuing roles even when her parents didn’t help her.
United Artists, The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
6. Her Childhood Left Scars
Richardson went on to drama school and pursued a life of acting just like her mother before her. However, her unorthodox childhood left its scars on her as well. Being the daughter of two entertainment professionals lacked a sense of stability, and that resulted in Richardson trying to make her own stability, whether it made sense or not.
Evening Standard, Getty Images
7. She Aligned Herself Well
At the age of 22, Richardson married Robert Fox, a man roughly ten years her senior with three children already. In Fox, Richardson perhaps saw something of herself, as Fox also descended from a family of actors and “theatre folk”. However, years later, Richardson acknowledges that “it seems like a slightly strange thing to have done”.
8. She Was Looking For Something
Although only 22 at the time, Richardson craved the feeling that her relationship with Fox gave her. By taking on some responsibility for raising his children, Richardson felt that others saw her as older and “more interesting” than she thought that she really was. It worried her family, this strange behaviour from their daughter.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
9. She Built On A Rocky Foundation
Richardson loved Fox, despite their age difference and their seemingly unorthodox arrangement. They remained married from 1990 to 1992. However, a relationship built on the foundation of being something you aren’t could never last, and eventually Richardson felt she needed something very different...
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
10. She Overhauled Her Life
Once she separated from Fox, Richardson moved to New York, where she ultimately made her Broadway debut in Anna Christie. While Anna Christie marked Richardson’s shift to a Broadway star, moving more and more of her life to America, it also marked a much more important change in her life.
Robin Platzer/Twin Images, Getty Images
11. She Made A Connection
While preparing for Anna Christie, Richardson met another young actor who’d relocated from across the pond: Liam Neeson. Richardson and Neeson starred across each other in Anna Christie. However, something far more significant began to bloom while they were off stage.
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
12. She Found Something She Was Missing
With Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson found a part of herself that had previously been hidden. She spent her childhood and even her 20s trying to live up to an image of perfection that she never could meet. But through Neeson, Richardson found something that she desperately needed.
13. She Regressed
In an interview with The Guardian, Richardson remarked, “I no longer feel that everything has to be just so. Liam's a very loose, easy-going guy. With him, I think I've youthened not so much physically, but certainly mentally and emotionally”. Once Richardson found her freedom, she didn’t let it go.
14. She Changed For A Man
After spending her childhood chasing an image of perfection, Richardson found it completely by accident. She and Neeson married in 1994. Following that, they spared no time in starting their family. Neeson changed everything for Richardson, and she never wanted to look back.
15. She Wanted Something New
In the same interview in The Guardian, Richardson said, “I always felt too young and selfish to have children of my own. But when I met Liam, I knew I wanted to have his children”. Which she did quickly. Richardson and Neeson’s two sons were born back-to-back in 1995 and 1996. But despite her new dreams come true, it wasn’t all peaches and cream.
16. She Got Unwanted Attention
When you are an actress, married to another famous actor, and descended from a family of famous actors, you’re bound to get a lot of attention. As such, in 1998, the tabloid Daily Mirror made a bold claim in their publication, one that Richardson and Neeson definitely did not appreciate.
17. She Called Them Out
The Daily Mirror claimed that the couple were on the cusp of a divorce, something that neither Neeson nor Richardson knew to be true. As a result, they sued the tabloid for libel, winning roughly $85,000 in damages once they settled the case. Soon, however, they would find their names on headlines again. And this time, nothing could change the tragic truth of the words.
18. She Went On Vacation
Everything changed for Richardson and her family in 2009. Of course, they had no idea what tragedy lurked around the corner. Richardson and her two sons were looking forward to an exciting vacation when they boarded a plane for Quebec, Canada, never realizing that it would be the last vacation they all spent together.
19. Her Husband Wasn’t There
At the time, Neeson was in Toronto, filming Chloe. Left on their own while Neeson worked, Richardson and the children decided to head to Mont Tremblant, a popular destination for skiers, a couple of hours north of Montreal, Quebec. Mont Tremblant welcomed thousands of skiers every year; but, unfortunately, Richardson was no skier.
Acarpentier, Wikimedia Commons
20. She Wanted Quality Time
Richardson intended to spend quality time with her sons while Neeson was working. Considering the proximity of Toronto to Montreal, perhaps Neeson even intended to visit his family once filming broke. In the end, she never got the chance.
Seto / from Toronto, Canada, Wikimedia Commons
21. She Tried Something New
Richardson had little to no experience with skiing. So, she did what any reasonable person would do: she booked a lesson. Thanks to Richardson’s substantial wealth, she got a private lesson and soon found herself going down Mont Tremblant’s beginner trail. But what should’ve been an easy ride quickly turned perilous.
Kostas Alexander, Getty Images
22. She Lost Her Footing
Despite her lessons and the ease of the trail, Richardson was still a beginner. Unexperienced with staying upright when gliding down a hill on a pair of sticks, Richardson did what most beginners did. She fell. Thousands of people across the globe go skiing each day, and, most of them get back up...
23. She Got Back Up
Initially, Richardson got back up too. However, she had hit her head on the way down and hadn’t been wearing a helmet. Concerned about her safety, her instructor called in the ski patrol, who looked her over, finding no obvious injury. However, head injuries were tricky things, and ski patrol decided they'd rather be safe than sorry.
Hoffman, Ron, Photographer (NARA record: 8464743), Wikimedia Commons
24. She Attracted Attention
Concerned that Richardson could have sustained an injury that ski patrol could not access, they put in a call to 911, with an ambulance arriving around 1 pm. Secured in the truck, they whisked Richardson to a nearby clinic for a more thorough examination. If Richardson had truly injured herself, she’d find out here, right? Wrong.
Hoffman, Ron, Photographer (NARA record: 8464743), Wikimedia Commons
25. She Didn’t Want A Fuss
Richardson had access to some of the best medical advice if she wanted it. There is nothing that money cannot buy. However, Richardson had no interest in making a fuss about her “little fall”. Instead, she signed a release waiver. As such, what happened next came at her own expense.
26. She Had A Tumble
Neeson did not hear about his wife’s accident until she’d returned to her hotel room. Trapped in another city while his wife suffered, Neeson understandably expressed his concern for Richardson over the phone, but she waved him off, telling him, “Oh, darling. I've taken a tumble in the snow”. These would be some of the last words Neeson ever heard from his wife.
27. She Ignored Their Advice
Despite telling her husband that she was fine, and likely believing it herself, others around Richardson feared for her health. Upon leaving the clinic, she’d been advised to seek out another doctor, and her ski instructor remained close by, just in case. As it turns out, Richardson needed all the help that she could get; she just didn’t know it.
28. She Only Got Worse
As the afternoon progressed, Richardson developed a headache that only continued to grow in strength. After two hours, Richardson suffered from so much pain that it became clear that she had signed herself out of the clinic far too early. They called another ambulance for the star, but they’d already waited too long.
Toni Anne Barson Archive, Getty Images
29. She Raced To Help
Around 3 pm, the ambulance left Mont Tremblant and took her to the local hospital, Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in nearby Ste-Agathe. However, a thorough examination of Richardson’s state caused alarm to spread throughout the hospital. Richardson needed more help than they were able to give her.
30. She Needed More Help
Realizing that Richardson had deteriorated beyond the point at which the smaller hospital in Ste-Agathe could deal with, they made an executive decision. They needed to move Richardson to a bigger hospital, stat. As a result, Richardson arrived at Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal by 7 pm. Meanwhile, someone still needed to tell her husband.
Richard Cote, Wikimedia Commons
31. Her Husband Didn’t Know
The last that Neeson had heard from his wife, she’d simply had a “tumble in the snow”. Since then, things had escalated at an alarming rate. As soon as he heard about Richardson’s deteriorating condition, he immediately got on a plane. However, the plane couldn’t fly quickly enough.
32. She Hit The Wrong Spot
Although Richardson had looked fine following her fall, and even felt fine for several hours, things were far from fine underneath. When Richardson fell, she fractured her temporal bone, located just in front of her ear. Although we tend to think of fractures as minor, in this case, Richardson couldn’t have found a worse place to injure herself.
33. She Found A Major Flaw
You see, the temporal bone is extremely thin, making it far more fragile than the rest of the skull. This is a major design flaw in the human anatomy, as the temporal bone covers something even more important: a significant artery known as the middle meningeal.
34. She Could’ve Been Saved
When Richardson fractured her temporal bone, it nicked that artery, which led to the one thing no one wants: bleeding in the brain. Damaging the middle meningeal doesn’t have to be a death sentence. If caught soon enough, doctors can repair it, and most people recover without any lasting effects. Unfortunately, Richardson refused to seek further treatment initially.
35. She Didn’t See The Danger
Initially, few signs of damage appear with this type of injury. Which is why Richardson felt fine and mostly just embarrassed after her fall, likely leading her to deny the medical attention she desperately needed. However, as the bleeding continues, it builds up in the skull, causing pressure on the brain. That’s when the real problems begin.
36. She Fell Too Far
The pressure building up in Richardson’s head resulted in the throbbing headache that finally prompted her to allow them to call the second ambulance. Confusion had also possibly begun to descend upon her before she succumbed to the penultimate consequences of an untreated brain bleed.
37. Her Husband Came Too Late
By the time that Neeson arrived at the hospital, Richardson was too far gone. Looking at the X-rays from the doctors, Neeson could see what Richardson hadn’t known hours before: there was too much blood in her head. Neeson never heard his wife speak to him again.
38. She Never Spoke Again
Richardson lost consciousness sometime before Neeson arrived in Montreal. By the time he arrived, the doctors had put her on life support and pronounced her too far gone. The damage was done. Natasha Ricahrdson was brain dead. However, Neeson needed one last moment with his wife.
39. Her Husband Couldn’t Let Go
Despite knowing what had happened, Neeson refused to leave Richardson alone. After getting the news, he recalled sitting in the room with her, telling her what happened, “Sweetie, you're not coming back from this. You've banged your head. It's — I don't know if you can hear me, but that's — this is what's gone down”. And he just couldn’t leave his wife there.
40. She Needed To Be Home
One of the last things that Neeson told Ricahrdson, whether she heard him or not, was, “And we're bringing ya back to New York. All your family and friends will come”. Which is exactly what happened. The following afternoon, Richardson moved to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where family and friends surrounded her.
Jim.henderson, Wikimedia Commons
41. She Was Surrounded By Love
Richardson didn't spend her final hours alone. No one knows for certain if someone declared “brain dead” is aware of what was around them, but if Richardson could tell anything in those final hours of her life, she would know that she was loved. In fact, many more people loved Richardson than she likely ever knew.
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
42. She Only Lasted Two Days
Two days after falling on that hill in Mont Tremblant, Richardson succumbed to her injuries, leaving the world surrounded by the ones who loved her. For her family, the loss was devastating. Not knowing what to do with himself, Neeson threw himself into the only thing he had left.
43. She Left Too Big Of A Hole
Richardson passed in 2009. Since then, Liam Neeson has been involved in 65 films. Work provided an escape from his grief. Liam once said, “I'm not good without work. I wallow too much ... and I just didn't want to, especially for my boys”. However, work wasn’t his only means of coping.
Fairchild Archive, Getty Images
44. Her Husband Was Lost
Following Richardson’s passing, Neeson had one other dependable escape. If he wasn’t working, then he was drinking. Neeson told GQ that he’d never drink at work. However, when sitting drinking with someone, he’d easily consume several bottles. It proved to be a dark hole that he had to work hard to dig himself out of.
45. Her Family Needed Her
Eventually, Neeson realized that he couldn’t keep going on as he had been. About four years after Richardson’s passing, Neeson gave up drinking, continuing to focus on his career, his family, and keeping Richardson alive, not just for their sons, but for himself as well.
20th Century Fox, Taken (2008)
46. She’s Never Been Forgotten
Neeson never forgot Richardson. In fact, he speaks to his wife every single day. He told Inquirer.net, “I go down [to her grave] quite often, so I do speak to her as if she’s here. Not that she answers me”. This is not the only way that Richardson lives on despite her untimely demise. No one’s forgotten Natasha Richardson.
47. Her Sons Keep Her Alive
In 2018, her eldest son, Michaél, changed his last name from Neeson to Richardson as a way to keep his mother alive. Over the years, another way that Michaél has remained close to his mother is through watching her movies. The Parent Trap has long been his favorite, showing the mother he loved, and it is through her films that Richardson remains loved by hundreds of others throughout the world.
Walt Disney Pictures, The Parent Trap (1998)
48. She Left An Impact On The World
Immediately following her loss, both Broadway and the West End went dark in her absence. Those that she had worked with spoke out about who Richardson had been and what they personally lost. At the time Lindsay Lohan recalled how Richardson had “treated [her] like [she] was her own”, and has honored Richardson many times since—as has much of the world.
Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
49. She Was Loved By Everyone
Some years after her passing, Neeson revealed just how much Richardson had meant to her fans across the world. When speaking of it, he stated that he and his family received hundreds, if not thousands, of sympathy cards and emails from fans all over the world who had loved Richardson. She also had another legacy of greater importance.
50. She Made The World Better
The tragic and public loss of Natasha Richardson prompted a worldwide conversation about brain injuries, raising awareness of proper safety practices when participating in high-risk sports. Thanks to Richardson, the world is a safer place. If only we hadn’t needed such a huge loss to make that happen.
Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images
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