Richardson leaves hospital after skiing injury
Concerns remain over the health of Natasha Richardson tonight after the actress suffered a head injury during a fall at a Canadian ski resort.
Tonight the Sacre-Coeur Hospital, where the star had been treated, confirmed she had left and is on a plane destined for the United States.
The 45-year-old showed no visible signs of injury following the fall but was taken to hospital an hour later after complaining of feeling unwell.
Her husband, actor Liam Neeson, rushed from filming to be at his wife’s bedside, it was reported.
Meanwhile family members said today they were “very concerned”.
The accident happened yesterday at the luxury Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec.
A statement from the ski resort said it occurred while Richardson was taking a supervised lesson on a beginners run.
After the fall, the instructor called the ski patrol for assistance.
A spokeswoman for the resort said: “She did not show any visible sign of injury but the ski patrol followed strict procedures and brought her back to the bottom of the slope and insisted she should see a doctor.
Both the instructor and the patrol accompanied the actress to her hotel and again urged her to see a doctor.
“Approximately an hour after the incident, Mrs Richardson was not feeling good. An ambulance was called and Mrs Richardson was brought to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe and was later transferred to Sacre-Coeur Hospital,” the Mont Tremblant statement added.
The hospital and Richardson’s agent were unable to comment on the accident or the actress’s condition.
It is believed that Neeson flew from filming in Toronto to be with his wife on news of the accident.
Kika Markham – the wife of Richardson’s uncle, Corin Redgrave – said today: “We know that she has had an accident but we really do not know any more details.
“We are very concerned.”
She said the family wanted to be left alone, adding: “He (Corin) has got a show tonight. He has had heart problems.”
Richardson is the daughter of Oscar winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson.
An award-winning actress in her own right, she is the grand-daughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, the sister of actress Joely Richardson, and the niece of Lynn Redgrave.
Born in May 1963, Richardson was educated at St Paul’s Girls School in London and trained at the city’s Central School of Speech and Drama.
She has two sons with 'Schindler’s List' star Neeson, whom she married in 1994 after meeting on the set of the film 'Nell'.
Her extensive experience on stage includes a number of Shakespearean roles, among them Ophelia in 'Hamlet' and Helena in 'A Midsummer Night’s Dream'.
In 1986 she won the London Drama Critics’ most promising newcomer award for her performance as Nina in 'The Seagull' alongside her mother.
She also won a Tony award for best actress in a musical for her performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes’s production of 'Cabaret' on Broadway in 1998.
