Family surrounded actress Natasha Richardson, a member of Britain's Redgrave theatrical dynasty, at a New York City hospital today after she was severely injured while skiing at a Canadian resort.
Representatives for Richardson (45), and her husband Co Antrim-born actor Liam Neeson repeatedly declined to comment on the severity of her injury, but the New York Timesreported the actress was in "a serious condition with head injuries."
Neeson, who was filming in Toronto, flew to be with his wife in Montreal after the accident, which happened on Monday when she fell during a private ski lesson at the Mont Tremblant resort, about 120 km north of Montreal.
Television footage showed Richardson's mother, actress and activist Vanessa Redgrave, sister, television star Joely Richardson, and aunt, actress Lynn Redgrave, arriving at the Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan overnight.
Photos also showed two boys - identified by local media as Richardson and Neeson’s sons Daniel Jack (12), and Michael (13) - leaving the hospital early today.
The couple own homes in Manhattan and Millbrook, New York, north of the city.
The Canadian ski resort said Richardson appeared to be in good condition after falling, but her instructor called a ski patrol to take her to the bottom of the hill. They escorted her back to the hotel and later called an ambulance after noticing she was not well.
She was flown to New York from Montreal's Hopital du Sacre-Coeur yesterday.
Born in May 1963, Richardson was educated at St Paul’s Girls School in London and trained at the city’s Central School of Speech and Drama.
She has two sons with Schindler's Liststar Neeson whom she married in 1994 after meeting on the set of the film Nell. Her extensive experience on stage includes a number of Shakespearean roles, among them Ophelia in Hamletand Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In 1986 she won the London Drama Critics' most promising newcomer award for her performance as Nina in The Seagullalongside her mother. She also won a Tony award for best actor in a musical for her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes' production of Cabareton Broadway in 1998.
Agencies