# Natasha Richardson dies following ski accident **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731 "2009-03-17T08:13:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/1 "2009-03-17T08:13:47Z")
I love Natasha Richardson so I hope she pulls through this, but it doesn’t look good. Would it be too much to ask that people forgo the “Who?” crap please? If you can’t be bothered to read the link, she’s a respected and acclaimed actress, Vanessa Redgrave’s daughter, and married to Liam Neeson. [Natasha Richardson critical after Canada ski accident](http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Natasha-Richardson-near-death-after-ski-accident-41340947.html) > [@](#): > > [IrishCentral.com](http://IrishCentral.com) has learned exclusively that famed actress Natasha Richardson, the wife of Irish superstar Liam Neeson, has been critically injured in Canada, according to an insider at the Montreal hospital to which she was taken. > > Richardson, who was set to co-star with her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, in a Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music,” was apparently injured in a ski accident and suffered a traumatic brain injury. > > … That link is way too close to an obituary for comfort. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/2 "2009-03-17T08:55:18Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I love Natasha Richardson so I hope she pulls through this, but it doesn’t look good. > . Aw, jeez. That’s awful. Poor Liam’s year had been off to one hell of a start, too; what with the global success of _ **Taken** _ and all. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/3 "2009-03-17T12:25:35Z")
Wow, that’s a rough break. Her sister attended our high school so that she could go to a famous tennis academy nearby. I’m guessing that they are all good athletes since you don’t critically injure yourself skiing on the bunny hills. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/4 "2009-03-17T13:07:22Z")
She and her mother Vanessa Redgrave were set to star in a Broadway revival of A Little Night Music. DAMN!☹ ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/5 "2009-03-17T13:48:49Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I’m guessing that they are all good athletes since you don’t critically injure yourself skiing on the bunny hills. Not really true. It doesn’t take much speed to cause a traumatic brain injury when you hit a tree or snowmaking pipe. My thoughts go out to her and her family. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/6 "2009-03-17T14:19:17Z")
What a shame! Hope she pulls through. I’ve liked her since I first saw her 20-some years ago in the Jeremy Brett _Sherlock Holmes_ series as a damsel in distress: [http://www.sshf.com/index.php3?dir=fr/dossiers/jbrett/guide&file=2-1\_copp](http://www.sshf.com/index.php3?dir=fr/dossiers/jbrett/guide&file=2-1_copp) ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/7 "2009-03-17T14:53:22Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > What a shame! Hope she pulls through. I’ve liked her since I first saw her 20-some years ago in the Jeremy Brett _Sherlock Holmes_ series as a damsel in distress: [http://www.sshf.com/index.php3?dir=fr/dossiers/jbrett/guide&file=2-1\_copp](http://www.sshf.com/index.php3?dir=fr/dossiers/jbrett/guide&file=2-1_copp) That was also the first image that popped into my head. This news saddens me. By the way, \*\*Equipoise \*\*, your OP was pretty much perfect, in case any annoying “Who?” people show up. Your subject line gives the important information to anyone who recognizes the name (it made me think “I hope he’s talking about a different Natasha Richardson”), provides a link, and summarizes the information in the linked article. You’re 10 for 10, and thanks for doing it that way. ---
**Author:** ![PeskiPiksi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e495f1/32.png) [@PeskiPiksi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PeskiPiksi)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/8 "2009-03-17T16:10:45Z")
A couple more mainstream films she’s been in in case people are trying to place her: She was the bitchy rival to Jennifer Lopez in _Maid in Manhattan_, and she played the mother in the remake of \*The Parent Trap \*with Lindsey Lohan a few years ago. This is a very sad story…wishing the best for her and her family. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/9 "2009-03-17T16:30:10Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Not really true. It doesn’t take much speed to cause a traumatic brain injury when you hit a tree or snowmaking pipe. My thoughts go out to her and her family. According to TMZ, there was no speed involved, no impact. > **[Details of Natasha Richardson's Ski Accident](https://www.tmz.com/2009/03/17/details-of-natasha-richardsons-ski-accident/)** > > We now know what happened to Natasha Richardson on the ski slope when she was critically hurt yesterday, suffering a brain injury. She apparently fell while taking a lesson, but was conscious and joking afterwards. About an hour later she complained of a headache and was taken to the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/10 "2009-03-17T17:01:49Z")
This is _People_’s quick take on it: [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266061,00.html?cnn=yes](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20266061,00.html?cnn=yes) Here’s to a quick and full recovery. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/11 "2009-03-17T17:11:55Z")
Could be little more than a concussion. The "TBI’ diagnosis sounds scary, but if she was conscious and talking, that’s a good sign. Course, IANAMD. Here’s hoping to a full recovery ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/12 "2009-03-17T18:48:43Z")
I just got a call from someone “in the know” who says she has died. I so hope this is wrong. ETA: It has been amended to “brain dead.” SHIT! ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/13 "2009-03-17T18:57:08Z")
The AP is reporting that she’s “brain dead.” > **[NYC News Radio Station - WINS-FM | 1010 WINS ALL NEWS 92 3](https://www.audacy.com/1010wins)** > > 1010 WINS All News 92 3 is a radio station covering NYC, New Jersey, and Long Island. You give us 22 minutes, we'll give you the world! Stream and download from any device on Audacy. So is this now just a matter of when to pull the plug? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/14 "2009-03-17T18:59:17Z")
I read on TMZ (ugh) that she’s been flown to an undisclosed location in the US. She was already moved once before from one hospital to another. That doesn’t sound like she’s _that_ bad off, if they’re able to move her around like that. Unless, of course, she’s dead, then they can move her around all they want (sorry). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/15 "2009-03-17T19:01:37Z")
They won’t move people if moving might make them worse. If she’s brain dead, moving ain’t going have much of an effect. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/16 "2009-03-17T19:03:12Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > The AP is reporting that she’s “brain dead.” > > [NYC News Radio Station - WINS-FM | 1010 WINS ALL NEWS 92 3](http://www.1010wins.com/ReportsActress-Natasha-Richardson-Is-Brain-Dead/4035099) > > So is this now just a matter of when to pull the plug? Jeez…they say she’s brain dead in the headline, but nowhere in the article do they back that up. Is that standard practice or shoddy reporting? ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/17 "2009-03-17T19:07:17Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Jeez…they say she’s brain dead in the headline, but nowhere in the article do they back that up. Is that standard practice or shoddy reporting? [Maybe she needs to get a spider to bite her.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=510527) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/18 "2009-03-17T19:17:28Z")
One of the reports said there were no external injuries or trauma. Possible that she might have been experiencing an aneurysm or something else internal, which might have caused the fall? Just speculation. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/19 "2009-03-17T19:42:26Z")
TMZ is reporting that she has brain swelling and that the previous report that she is brain-dead was wrong. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2009, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731/20 "2009-03-17T19:45:07Z")
That’s terrible news. My heart goes out to her, her husband Liam Neeson and their two children. It seems the initial fall was only a minor one, although she wasn’t wearing a helmet. They urged her to seek medical attention but she refused and went back to her room. They called 911 a little later when the headache kicked in. Whatever it is I hope she makes a full recovery, although some of the reports circulating are very ominous. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/natasha-richardson-dies-following-ski-accident/489731.md?page=2)