Actress Natasha Richardson dead at age 45

(Photo - Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images)

FROM THE BURBANK BUREAU; March 18, 2009 5:50 PM PDT -- Natasha Richardson, the luminous British actress from one of the world's great acting families, whose performances ranged from the high-brow drama "The Handmaid's Tale" to the lightweight comedy "The Parent Trap" and the Tony-winning Broadway production of "Cabaret," died Wednesday. She was 45.

The wife of "Schindler's List" actor Liam Neeson and the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late film director Tony Richardson died at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. The cause of death was not announced but she had been hospitalized after suffering a devastating brain injury while skiing Monday.

"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," said a statement released by publicist Alan Nierob. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

UPDATE: Natasha Richardson brain dead, off life support; unconfirmed reports that she has passed away

(Photo courtesy Getty Images)

Several sources are reporting that Natasha Richardson was taken off life support at 1:30 PM EDT today, with some unconfirmed reports saying the Tony Award-winning actress has passed away this evening.

This is not unexpected. Several sources felt yesterday, when learning they were flying Natasha in to Lenox Hill, that this meant her condition was hopeless and they were just finding a place to be together with her and to say good-bye. One unidentified insider was quoted as saying, "Nobody goes to Lenox Hill who is really sick; if she had a chance to live, they’d have found another great brain hospital!"

The New York bureau reports Vanessa Redgrave, Richardson's mother, arrived 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 at around 5 p.m. Wednesday. An hour earlier, Richardson's sister, Joely, arrived alone and was swarmed by the media as she entered through the back of the hospital.

Among grief-stricken visitors was actress Lauren Bacall, who attended the couple's 1994 wedding at their white clapboard farmhouse in rural Millbrook, 70 north of New York City.

Actress Meryl Streep and author Joan Didion also dropped by.

"There is no chance," a family friend told reporters earlier this afternoon. "It is a fact that her heart is beating, but she is brain dead."

Speculation continues to swirl around Natasha Richardson skiing accident

Conflicting reports last night had actress Natasha Richardson "brain dead" and being flown home to New York for a sad family farewell, or suffering from "brain swelling," a potentially catastrophic condition, but not necessarily the tragic end that many fear is at hand for the wife and mother of two, a member of Britain's most respected acting clan.

This much is known: Richardson was flown to New York yesterday afternoon after being treated at a Montreal hospital. On her arrival here, it was unclear whether she was being transferred to a hospital or a private home.

While friends and family gathered Monday evening for a vigil in NYC, where Richardson and Neeson call home, the 45-year-old actress' mom, Oscar winner Vanessa Redgrave, was photographed heading to Lenox Hill Hospital in upper Manhattan, presumably to be by her daughter's side.

Some published reports said the move came so that mother Vanessa Redgrave, the actress' two children and loved ones could say goodbye, before she's taken off life support. Richardson's representative did not return calls last night.

Richardson, 45, fell during a beginner lesson Monday at Canada's famed Mont Tremblant ski resort. A statement from the resort said the Tony-winning actress did not appear injured at first. She was taken to the hospital about an hour later after reporting a headache.

She was first taken to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe, then transferred to Hospital du Sacré-Coeur in Montreal, reports said.

Richardson is married to actor Liam Neeson, who left the Toronto set of the movie "Chloe" to be with his wife, reports said.

The couple have two sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12.

Thoughts and prayers to Natasha and Liam Neeson, as well as the families.