Natasha Richardson, a glamorous and talented member of a British acting dynasty and wife of actor Liam Neeson, died from head injuries on March 18 suffered while she was skiing. She was 45.

She fell on a beginners’ slope near Montreal during a ski lesson March 16 and initially appeared coherent, but an hour later she complained of a headache. As her condition worsened dramatically, she was flown to a hospital near her home in New York City, where her family gathered.

She was the daughter of Academy Award-winning actress and human rights activist Vanessa Redgrave and the Oscar-winning director and producer Tony Richardson. Her maternal grandparents were the actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Her aunt is actress Lynn Redgrave, with whom Natasha Richardson and her mother appeared in the 2005 Merchant-Ivory production The White Countess.

Richardson was widely respected for the high quality and versatility of her performances. She won a Tony Award for a 1998 revival of the musical Cabaret, in which she played the bohemian showgirl Sally Bowles, and starred in a variety of film, television and stage productions, ranging from Blanche Du Bois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire on Broadway to a Disney remake of The Parent Trap in Hollywood.

As a young woman, Richardson was considered one of the most promising actresses of her generation and earned a reputation as a specialist in formidable dramatic parts. She received a Tony nomination and outstanding notices for her lead role as a woman with a dark past in Anna Christie.

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