OTTAWA – Actor Natasha Richardson, who is married to actor Liam Neeson, was moved to a New York hospital from a hospital in Montreal last night after a fall while skiing at a Canadian resort.
There were conflicting reports yesterday of her condition.
London’s Evening Standard newspaper said Richardson (45) had suffered a “traumatic head injury” at the Mont Tremblant resort, about 120km (75 miles) north of Montreal.
The resort said she appeared to be in good condition after the fall, but later felt unwell. She was taken to a local hospital and then to Hopital du Sacre-Coeur in Montreal.
A spokeswoman for the Montreal hospital declined to confirm if Richardson had been admitted but said she had been told by an agent for the family that she had left the country.
She said she did not know her condition.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp said Richardson, escorted by medical staff, had left on a private plane on Tuesday afternoon and headed for New York City.
The Mont Tremblant resort said that after the fall, her instructor called members of a ski patrol who accompanied her back to the hotel and recommended she see a doctor.
“She walked back to her room, she insisted on going back to her room,” resort spokeswoman Lyne Lortie told Radio-Canada.
“About an hour later, the instructor, who had stayed with her to make sure everything was all right, noticed that Ms Richardson was not feeling well and called an ambulance.”
Corin Redgrave, her uncle, told the Standard newspaper: “I have heard this morning from a family representative about Natasha’s accident and am very saddened.”
Ms Lortie said she was surprised by reports of a serious head injury because Richardson “spoke without any confusion, she knew where she was, she was in full control of herself . . . there was no visible injury, no sign of impact”.
Richardson is a member of the Redgrave British acting dynasty.
She followed her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and her father, film director Tony Richardson, into a career on stage and screen in England and in the US.
Richardson met Neeson on the set of the Jodie Foster drama Nell and they married in 1994.
They have two young sons.
Neeson, who was filming in Toronto, flew to be with his wife in Montreal, some media reports said. – (Reuters)