Report: Natasha Richardson brain dead at 45

UPI ^ | March 17, 2009 at 9:00 PM

[Borges]

Natasha Richardson died Tuesday, a day after suffering a head injury in a Canadian skiing accident, a source close to her family told OK!. She was 45.

The magazine said on its Web site that Richardson's loved ones decided to take her off life support Tuesday after she was declared brain dead.

"The family is devastated," the source told OK!

The British-born actress was the daughter of stage and film great Vanessa Redgrave and the late director-producer Tony Richardson. She also was the sister of actress Joely Richardson and the wife of Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, her co-star in the 1994 movie "Nell."

She had two sons with Neeson -- 13-year-old Micheal and 12-year-old Daniel.

Richardson appeared in the movies "Gothic," "Blow Dry," "The Parent Trap," "Haven," "Maid in Manhattan," "Asylum" and "The White Countess." She won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway revival of the musical "Cabaret."

"Batman Begins," "Schindler's List" and "Michael Collins" star Neeson can be seen in the current release "Taken."

He left the Toronto set of his movie "Chloe" immediately to fly to Montreal where his wife was hospitalized after her accident, a representative for the film told IrishCentral.com.

The New York Daily News said Neeson accompanied Richardson on the flight home from Montreal to New York where her family gathered Tuesday to say goodbye to the actress.

Richardson reportedly sustained her injuries while skiing on a beginner slope at a Quebec resort with at least one of her sons.

[DarthVader]

She had a aneurytic condition which was aggravated by the ski accident.

[jaz.357]

Peace be with yee Liam and family.

[fieldmarshaldj]

Dreadful. RIP.

[anglian]

Why risk moving her and bring her to NY to be treated? Says something about Canadian healthcare system.

[xp38]

I read earlier that a report said she wasn’t wearing a helmet.

[Tanniker Smith]

Holy crap! I heard it was an accident on a beginner's slope.

Prayers for the family.

[Wiseghy]

I seem to recall someone referencing a film about the horrid state of Montreal hospitals.

In general, only top notch trauma centers in the US can deal well with severe head injuries. Lots of expertise needs to come together; imaging, neurosurgeons, drug treatment experts, etc., and they all need to act extremely fast. Hard to imagine a crowded public system dealing well with that.

[rgr]

prayers for the family.

[DJ MacWoW]

No helmet.

Richardson laughs off tumble on beginners' ski slope – but then collapses, critically ill

News reports said the Tony award-winning actress and wife of actor Liam Neeson was brain dead, but still alive.

Ms Richardson was not wearing a helmet

[Cyber Ninja]

RIP Good Woman.

[DJ MacWoW]

Friends of Natasha Richardson Mourning

“Her body’s being flown back to New York,” good friends to gravely injured Natasha Richardson tell me. “They would not put her on a plane with the air pressure changes if she had brain swelling and was still alive. It is so sad.”

[Texas Songwriter]

I do not know what an "aneurytic condition" is, but her episode is a textbook, classic description of an epidural 'bleed'. These injuries to the head can be very minor in appearance, have a lucid period of apparent normalcy, followed by the complaint, "This is the worst headache I have ever had!". When that is the presentation it is almost certainly an epidural bleed....the accummulation of a blood clot on the outter covering of the brain (dura). As the clot expands, a severe headache ensues, followed by a drop attack, unconsciousness and death, if not treated quickly. The rapidity of death is dependent upon the rate of the bleeding and the mass effect of the clot shifting the brain to the opposite side of the clot. If caught in time, it is fairly easily treatable by decompressing the brain by evacuating the clot.

I wonder if she had a CT scan at the first hospital she went to be treated.

[tiki]

May God rest her soul.

[fortunecookie]

I was afraid of that, when I heard the stories. May she rest in peace. I can only imagine the pain Liam and her boys are feeling and my prayers go out to all of them.

[RedStateRocker]

I’ve never even heard of, nor seen, a skier wearing a helmet.
Forgive my ignorance and astonishment; a helmet? to ski?

[vamoose]

My wife was an extra in a movie, A Handmaid's Tale with Natasha Richardson and was very saddened to hear of her tragic accident. My wife was 8 months pregnant with our first child at the time. (Pregnant women were central to the plot.) It was one of the last days of shooting the film in Durham, NC, and there were very few people on the set, so few that everyone ate lunch together. Natasha was the only star present and my wife talked with her a bit as they ate. My wife had not heard of her before that meeting and didn't really realize her star status. She also would not have guessed it from Natasha's demeanor. She was quite normal and didn't insist upon privilege. Grace and peace to Natasha's family.

[Dick Bachert]

Yes, prayers up for her soul and the family.

And on St. Patrick’s Day. Liam being Irish gives that sad fact deeper significance.

[MarkL]

I'm terribly saddened by this. She was a lovely woman and a wonderful actress.

This is a scene from one of my favorite movies, "Waking Up in Reno." It's rarely mentioned in her work, but I think it's a really terrific movie, funny but a bit sad, and very sweet.

Mark

[DJ MacWoW]

I’ve never seen it either but I guess helmets are thought to be a good thing now.

[mockingbyrd]

God bless her husband and boys. How tragic.