13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Vanessa Redgrave makes rare comment about late daughter Natasha Richardson's tragic death
Natasha Richardson's family is remembering her over 16 years after her death.
The late 'Parent Trap' star's sister, Joely Richardson, shared a heartfelt message on Sunday to mark a bittersweet occasion.
'Today would have been my sister Tasha's birthday,' Joely, 60, wrote in her Instagram tribute, which featured throwback photos of the siblings and their mom, actress Vanessa Redgrave.
Advertisement
10 Natasha and Joely Richardson.
joelyrichardsonsinsta/Instagram
10 Vanessa Redgrave with her daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson.
joelyrichardsonsinsta/Instagram
'I asked my Ma if she'd like to say anything,' Joely continued. 'This is what she dictated to me.'
Advertisement
Redgrave, 88, reminisced on when her and then-husband Tony Richardson named Natasha during a trip to Greece.
'We sat drinking our coffees in Constitution Square. Tony said if the baby was a boy we should call him Tom. I said if she was a girl I would like her to be called Natasha after Tolstoy 's 'War and Peace,'' Regrave said.
10 Natasha Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave at 'The White Countess' premiere in London in March 2006.
Scott Myers/Shutterstock
10 Natasha Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave at the 2007 Met Gala.
WireImage
Advertisement
10 Natasha Richardson, Vanessa Redgrave, and Joely Richardson at the 'Blue Sky' premiere in 1994.
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
'Our Natasha, as yes she was a girl, came swimming out of my womb ready for anything,' the 'Julia' actress continued. 'I can't believe that she isn't swimming somewhere now, in one of the pools or seas we explored.'
10 Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha Richardson promoting 'The White Countess' in 2006.
Corbis via Getty Images
'I will never be reconciled to her dying in the snow,' Redgrave added of her oldest daughter's tragic passing, 'and I'm sure that every mother who has lost a child will have that pain always.'
Advertisement
Others stars paid tribute to Natasha in the comments section, including Andy Cohen, Julianne Moore, Richard E. Grant and Amy Sedaris.
Natasha died at age 45 in March 2009 after suffering head trauma following a skiing accident in Quebec, Canada.
10 Natasha Richardson at the amfAR New York Gala at Cipriani in NYC in Feb. 2009.
Getty Images
She complained of a headache after a seemingly minor fall, before she was rushed to a local hospital and then transferred to a bigger one in Montreal. She was finally sent home to Lenox Hill in New York where she passed.
At the time of her death, Natasha was married to actor Liam Neeson. They got married at their farmhouse in upstate New York in July 1994, two years after Richardson's divorce from her first husband, Robert Fox.
10 Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson at a special screening of 'Seraphim Falls' in NYC in 2007.
Getty Images
The 'Taken' actor, 72, spoke about his wife's death in an interview with People last year.
'It was a horrible thing to happen,' Neeson said.
Advertisement
10 Liam Neeson, Natasha Richardson at 'The Other Man' premiere in London in 2008.
AFP via Getty Images
10 Natasha Richardson's family and friends before her funeral in Lithgow, New York in March 2009.
Getty Images
He also credited Redgrave and Joely with helping him with his and Natasha's sons Micheál, 29, and Daniel, 28, in the aftermath.
'Everybody just pulled together. We were fortunate in lots of ways,' he said.
