Very sad news to report today … actress Natasha Richardson, who starred in films like Nell, The Parent Trap (1998) and Maid in Manhattan, passed away yesterday due to complications resulting from a skiing accident that happened in Canada earlier this week. At first we heard that Richardson suffered a small fall while enjoying a skiing lesson but that she refused medical treatment because the fall was nothing serious. Later that day, Richardson reportedly complained of headaches and was taken to the hospital … from that point on reports were erratic at best — some claimed she had died, others that she was merely brain dead. Sadly, it turns out that the reports of her injuries were as serious as was initially reported. Natasha died yesterday at the young age of 45 years old:

Natasha Richardson, a Tony Award-winning actress whose career melded glamorous celebrity with the bloodline of theater royalty, died Wednesday at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan. She had suffered head injuries in a skiing accident Monday north of Montreal, and was flown to New York on Tuesday. She was 45 and lived in Manhattan and in Millbrook, N.Y. Alan Nierob, a spokesman for her husband, the actor Liam Neeson, announced Ms. Richardson’s death Wednesday night. “Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” a statement said. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.” The statement did not disclose the cause of death or discuss Ms. Richardson’s medical condition. The gravity of her injuries had prompted an outpouring of public interest and concern and flurries of rumor and speculation since Monday, when reports of her accident began filtering out of the Mont Tremblant ski resort in the Laurentian hills. Ms. Richardson, who was not wearing a helmet, had fallen during a beginner’s skiing lesson, a resort spokeswoman, Lyne Lortie, said Tuesday. “It was a normal fall; she didn’t hit anyone or anything,” Ms. Lortie said. “She didn’t show any signs of injury. She was talking and she seemed all right.” Still, an instructor and a ski patrol member accompanied her off the slopes, and when Ms. Richardson complained of a headache about an hour later in her hotel, she was taken by ambulance to a hospital nearby and later transferred to one in Montreal. She was flown to Lenox Hill on Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday, as television news vans stood outside, friends including Lauren Bacall and family members including Ms. Richardson’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, and sister, the actress Joely Richardson, were observed arriving. Mr. Neeson was seen crouched beside her in an ambulance in Montreal the day before … Besides her husband, Ms. Richardson is survived by their two sons, Micheal Richard Antonio Neeson, 13, and Daniel Jack Neeson, 12, as well as her mother, her sister and a half-sister, Katherine Grimond.

I received word of Natasha‘s passing last night while I was enjoying the festivities at SxSW in downtown Austin, TX … it was not the news I wanted to hear, obviously. While I wasn’t the biggest Natasha Richardson fan (ie. I doubt I ever mentioned her on the blog before) she was deffo one of those actresses that was a welcome sight in any movie. She reminded me so much of Emma Thompson … she was such a talent. It is a really frightening thought to know that simple fall like this could end someone’s life. How many times have we hit our heads and thought nothing of it at the time? It’s such a sad, sad tragedy. I’m sure it is an incredible shock to lose her in this way. My thoughts, prayers and condolences goes out to her grieving family.

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