Natasha Richardson: Passes away after fall on ski slope

Natasha Richardson: Passes away after fall on ski slope

After fighting a battle for dear life Natasha Richardson , a gifted and precocious heiress to acting royalty whose career highlights included the film "Patty Hearst" and a Tony-winning performance in a stage revival of "Cabaret," breated her last on Wednesday after suffering a head injury during a beginners' ski lesson. She was forty five years old.

According to Alan Nierob, the Los Angeles-based publicist for Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, has brought out the confirmation of the news in confirmed her death in a written statement.

It is stated, " Liam Neeson , his sons (Micheal, 13, and 12-year-old Daniel), and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," the statement said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

However the statement did not give details on the cause of death for Natasha Richardson, who suffered a head injury and fell on a beginner's trail during a private ski lesson at the luxury Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. Although seemingly fine after the fall, about an hour later she complained that she didn't feel well.

On Tuesday she was taken in Montreal and later flown to a hospital in New York, where family members had been seen coming and going.

Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, reached the hospital in a car with darkened windows and was taken through a garage when she arrived at the Lenox Hill Hospital on Manhattan's Upper East Side about 5 p.m. Wednesday. One hour earlier, Joely, Richardson's sister, arrived alone and was swarmed by the media as she entered through the back of the hospital.

Although not reaching height of success as much as her Academy Award-winning mother, she still had enjoyed a long and worthy career. As an actress, Richardson was equally adept at passion and restraint, able to portray besieged women both confessional (Tennessee Williams' Blanche DuBois) and confined (the concubine in the futuristic horror of "The Handmaid's Tale").