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According to columnist Liz Smith, family members of Natasha Richardson were left with no choice but to take the actress off life support at 1:30 p.m. Richardson allegedly went brain dead sometime after suffering a critical brain injury while skiing in Canada on Monday and she was transported to New York yesterday.
Her family, including husband Liam Neeson, their two sons, and her mother Vanessa Redgave, have been gathered at Lenox Hill Hospital (only to be swarmed by paparazzi). The Post reports, according to friends, Meryl Streep and Joan Didion were at the hospital to "pay their final respects" while TMZ says Lauren Bacall was seen entering the hospital just before 4 p.m. A family friend told People, "There is no chance. It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead."
Update 8:30pm: The Times is reporting that Natasha Richardson has died. A spokesman released a statement, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
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What a terrible loss for their family.
Rest In Peace.
Very sad indeed.
Just 45 in good health with young children, then in a split second... As if we needed a reminder that life is a fragile state of being regardless of who you are.
That sucks.
Strange coincidence of sorts, but the last film I recall seeing Neeson in was 'Love, actually' where he played a widower.
I was just thinking about that this morning...
I'm glad (in a weird way) they let her go...if there is no chance for her to regain consciousness then it would just cause unnecessary emotional damage to her surviving family...
this just sucks for any family, not just the famous ones.
That's just terrible -- when it's your time, I guess it's just your time. But, damn.
What a strange and freak accident.
What a strange and freak accident.
RIP I hope the family donated her organs
What compounds the loss is that the damn paparazzi won't give the family any privacy during this terribly upsetting time. And I hope the people who were making jokes yesterday like how she should be taking a Hansom cab with her husband are proud of themselves. Just insensitive and shameful.
i agree i believe you that Lauren Bacall showed up they don't need 200 people with cameras for proof and they will make a statement when there ready no need to camp outside the hospital
You shouldn't scapegoat people, they are not to blame for this freak accident. And if people are so offended by paparazzi then they should stop buying all their magazine but they won't.
What the hell are you talking about? Who's being made a scapegoat? And I don't buy any tabloids or watch anything like Entertainment Tonight or Extra. Try making some sense.
I said People not you specifically are watching TMZ. Stardom is a double edge sword.
Her poor husband and children - what a sudden and shocking loss for them. Terribly sad.
How horrible. She was so young and full of life. I hope that the paparazzi give them space to grieve and that her kids have a good support structure.
Good time to look into having a living will made.
I believe in NYS it's a 'health care proxy'.
The whole thing leaves you shocked and numb. Over a little spill on the snow a good person is snatched from us. Today, nothing is fair.
there is no justice in the world. People like Natasha Richardson die while Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan still breathe. SAD
Felix,
A living will and a health care proxy are two very different things. A health care proxy designates WHO you want making health care decisions for you if you're unable to yourself.
A living will spells out what you want done in case something awful happens. When you want to be taken off life support, blah blah blah blah blah.
Such a tragedy. Her poor family. I hope they're given a little privacy to mourn.
Very sad, my condolences to her family.
How terrible. My condolences for her and her family.
I meant just her family. That said, the world lost a great artist.
This is so terribly sad.
I was really hoping she'd pull through, especially after the media began to circle around the hospital like vultures, talking about her as if she had already died. They were really chomping at the bit. Time Out New York even prematurely reported that she had died. I was hoping she'd pull through just to show them all.
Natasha Richardson was an extremely gifted actress, a beautiful person, and a beloved wife, mother, sister, and daughter. She left her family, friends, and us her fans way, way too soon. May she rest in peace.
May she rest in peace & my condolences to Redgraves & Neesons. We all are mortal, but such deaths come too soon, too suddenly.
A horrible tragedy. Compounded by the lack of regard and respect for the family demonstrated by the so-called media gathered at Lenox Hill. Did anyone notice that legitimate media outlets (CNN, MSNBC, etc.) didn't post pictures of the family at the hospital? Leave it to TMZ and the paparazzi to set the bar at the lowest possible level. If we all stop watching, reading, visiting their websites will they go away?
I'm very saddened by this. I'd so been hoping that the reports were exaggerated. I don't understand how this could happen so suddenly after a fall on a beginner's slope. As a skiier I am baffled and can't help but think of my own experiences schussing down mountains and some falls I've taken. I saw her performance several years ago in "Closer". Ironically, Patricia Neal was seated a couple of rows in back of me....she who survived and recovered from a devastating stroke at a young age.
My heart goes out to the Neesons and Redgraves.
I have no idea who she is/was.
Still sad.
Me neither.
And yeah, it's sad.
But I keep getting the sense that Liam is what makes this as big as it is... is that wrong to say?
Natasha Richardson was an acclaimed stage actress from Britain's most family stage family (she also starred in films, though not any huge blockbusters). She had a number of memorable performances on Broadway, most notably in Anna Christie and Cabaret, for which she was award a Tony. I didn't see her in Cabaret, though a professor friend saw her in it three times (he said she was *marvelous*), but I saw her in Closer, where she radiated warmth, intelligence and sensuality—she also had this gloriously sexy voice.
This is just very sad, for her family, friends and colleagues. She will be missed by her fans and well-wishers.
Heartbreaking.
How many more celebrity deaths will it take to finally convince people not to ski? Michael Kennedy, Sonny Bono and now her. Just say no.
Curse of the Irish (for Liam anyway.)
Wow, Lauren Bacall is still around? Any guessers as to her age before it's googled...?
This must be really hard to come to terms with, considering how innocuous the accident seemed to be. Something initially so minor that she joked about her clumsiness, that ended so drastically and in such a short space of time.
Its insane how much the human body can put-up-with in some cases (that window cleaner that survived a 47 storey fall), and how fragile it is in other cases.
This really is a desperately sad story all round, my heart goes out to the family.
I just hope the likes of TMZ allow them to mourn quietly, peacefully and privately.
RIP Natasha
How terribly, terribly sad! I think any person passing so young is tragic, but for some reason this one is sticking with me. I have always been fond of her (damn you, Parent Trap!) and from all accounts from people who lived in her building and were her friends, she was just a lovely, lovely woman.
With 29, no clue who she is/was...ah, but worse things have happened.
This sucks. I went skiing the day after Christmas and injured my right shoulder, my girlfriend received a large bruise on her butt, and her mother tore her rotator cuff. Skiing is definitely not the safest recreational activity. It's hard to believe that Natasha is gone due to a slight head bump. RIP, Ms. Richardson. My condolences go out to her family.
I wonder what the real story is. Skiing on a bunny slope and getting a brain injury like that. Not buying it...
What a blessed life she had. By account, she seems to have been enjoying her life right up until the end. And with the exception of her survivors, there seems to have been little suffering involved. Not the worst way to go.
The last performance I saw from the talented Redgrave dynasty was her mother on stage in The Year of Magical Thinking, portraying a woman who was mourning her dying, comatose adult daughter. Eerie.
such a Hot ,Steamy Woman. She had some Body! mmm
Her husband should have taken better care of her.
Natasha will be missed; and our condolences go out to Liam
Natasha will be missed; and our condolences go out to Liam