Natasha Richardson: the short life of a film actress

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Natasha Richardson (full name Natasha Jane Richardson) is an American stage and film actress born May 11, 1963 in London. Natasha's father, film director Tony Richardson, died in 1991. Mother - famous actress Vanessa Redgrave. Parents divorced in 1967.

Child roles

Artistic Natasha Richardson first appeared in films as a five-year-old child. Her father brought her to the set, and the girl played in an episode of the film "Attack of the Light Horse". She liked acting so much that the baby, waking up early, went to her father in the bedroom and woke him up, demanding to take her to the film studio as soon as possible. She had time everywhere: to chat with the operator, and play with props, and even try on some costume of the last century. Then Natasha was invited to the theater, and she began to play small roles on stage in children's performances. Later, she was entrusted with the role of Helena in the play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" based on the play by William Shakespeare, and then Ophelia in the production of "Hamlet". The girl grew up, children's roles were replaced by teenage, and then completely adults. After the performance in 1986the role of Nina in the play "The Seagull" by Chekhov Natasha left the theater and switched to cinema.

First lead role

In 1989, Natasha Richardson starred in the film "The Handmaid's Tale" directed by Volker Schlöndorff. Her character, the librarian Kate, takes part in fantastic events taking place in the fictional totalitarian state of Gilead. In a country that is constantly at war with neighboring states, there is a procedure for selecting newborns. According to the law, only one out of a hundred women has the right to give birth to children. Who is this woman, decides a special commission. Selected individuals are sent to the camp, where forced conception awaits them with representatives of the male part of the population. These women are called servants and are required to wear red clothes. Kate tries to flee the country, but is caught and punished. Then they are tested for fertility, and the woman joins a group of maids.

Mystical plot

Richardson's next major role was in 1990's Paul Schroeder's Comfort Strangers. The development of the plot takes place in Venice, where the young spouses Mary and Colin arrived, deciding to repeat their honeymoon trip after three years of a happy family life. Traveling by gondola along the canal, they meet an incomprehensible person who offers them an acquaintance and invites them to his house. Without suspecting anything, the couple agree. Then they meet the wife of a hospitable host, also a rather strange person. Howeverinnate philanthropy does not allow Colin and Mary to suspect something was wrong, and they leave the house of new acquaintances, promising to return the next day. However, the fatal sword of ritual murder is already raised above their heads. After the second visit, Mary and Colin disappear without a trace.

Thriller

In 1991, director Jan Eliasberg shot the thriller film "After Midnight" in which Natasha Richardson played the main role. Her character is Laura Matthews, an employee at a rehabilitation center for criminals released early from prison. Events unfold around a middle-aged man convicted of murdering his pregnant wife. After leaving prison, the killer meets Laura, and after a while a close relationship develops between them. The woman feels that there are ambiguities in this whole story with the murder of a pregnant wife, but she tries to drive away all suspicions. But soon Laura realizes that she is pregnant, and her doubts flare up with renewed vigor.

The White Countess

Natasha Richardson, whose filmography includes the military-historical drama called "The White Countess" directed by James Ivory, played the main role in this film. Her character is the Russian Countess Sofia Belinskaya. In the center of the plot are events taking place in the thirties of the 20th century in Shanghai. The Countess meets former American diplomat Todd Jackson, who was forced to retire for he alth reasons. One day Todd, regularlyplaying at the races, wins a significant amount of money. He decides to invest them in an aristocratic nightclub. Jackson offers Sophia, whom he managed to love with all his heart, to become the mistress of a prestigious institution. Belinskaya gratefully accepts such a generous gift, and their further relationship is already developing within the walls of the club, which was called the "White Countess".

Private life

Natasha Richardson's first marriage did not last long, from 1990 to 1992. Her husband was producer Robert Fox.

In 1994, the actress got married for the second time, her chosen one was the actor Liam Neeson. The second marriage was successful, in June 1995 the couple had a son, Michael, and in August 1996, Daniel was born. Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson were happy until tragedy struck in the spring of 2009. No one imagined that a simple trip to a ski resort could have such a scary ending.

Accident

Natasha Richardson, skiing on the entry-level slope of the ski resort of Mont-Tremblant, fell and hit her head. She did not feel much pain and did not go to the doctors. However, soon the actress became ill, and she was taken to the hospital, where she fell into a coma. And two days later, on March 18, 2009, Natasha Richardson died. The body of the actress was transported to New York, farewell to the deceased was organized at the Lenox Hill Hospital. Natasha Richardson, who was buried by her family, was interred next to her grandmother, Rachel Kempson, who died in 2003.year.