In Memoriam: Natasha Jane Richardson, 1963-2009

[thatcrazycajun]

With thanks to filkertom for passing along the sad news: Actress Natasha Richardson has died at the age of 45 (only a couple weeks older than me, as it happens; her birthday was May 11, 1963 and mine is May 26 of the same year) of injuries sustained during a skiing accident in Quebec just two days ago, at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY. She is survived by her husbands Robert Fox (prior) and Liam Neeson (current), her mother Vanessa Redgrave and aunt Lynn Redgrave, sister Joely Richardson and two sons. Yahoo! News has her obituary here.

With an acting pedigree like hers, it was easy to see where Natasha got her talent. Though she is best known to SF/fantasy fans for her role as the lead character, Kate/Offred, in the film adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian-future novel The Handmaid's Tale, she boasted many other credits in film and stage work, including a Tony Award for her portrayal of Sally Bowles in a 1998 revival of Cabaret. Her sudden loss is shocking and saddening, and my heart goes out to all her family, friends, colleagues and fans.

Comments

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

Irrelevantly, my brother's birthday is May 11.

I'm thinking i'm going to wear a helmet next time I go boarding

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

Don't forget her grandfather, Sir Ralph Richardson.

RIP

Actually, not.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

Here is what IMDB has to say about Tony Richardson's parentage:

Son of Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist, and Elsie Evans.

Re: Actually, not.

[sffilk.livejournal.com]

I sit corrected, then.

Re: Actually, not.

[msminlr.livejournal.com]

I made the same mis-assumption the first time Morris and I recognized her (in The Parent Trap, istr) from having seen her *somewhere* before, and went hunting on IMDB to see who she was.