What Was Natasha Richardson's Net Worth?
Natasha Richardson was an English actress and producer who had a net worth of $15 million at the time of her death in 2009. Natasha Richardson won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for starring as Sally Bowles in a 1998 Broadway production of "Cabaret," and she earned a nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her performance in a 1993 production of "Anna Christie." Natasha also performed on Broadway in "Closer" (1999) and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2005), and she appeared in London productions of "The Seagull" (1985), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1985), "Hamlet" (1985), and "High Society" (1986–1987).
Richardson had more than 30 acting credits to her name, including the films "Gothic" (1986), "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990), "Nell" (1994), "Widows' Peak" (1994), "The Parent Trap" (1998), and "Maid in Manhattan" (2002), the TV movie "Zelda" (1993), and the television series "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1985) and "Tales from the Crypt" (1996). She also starred in and executive produced the 2005 film "Asylum." Sadly, Natasha passed away on March 18, 2009, from an epidural hematoma after a skiing accident at the age of 45.
Early Life
Natasha Richardson was born Natasha Jane Richardson on May 11, 1963, in Marylebone, London, England. She was a member of the acting dynasty the Redgrave family. Natasha's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, is an actress who has won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA Award, Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild Award, and Tony Award, and her father, Tony Richardson (who died in 1991) was a director and producer. Natasha had a sister, actress Joely Richardson, and two half-siblings, Carlo Gabriel Nero (a director and screenwriter) and Katharine Grimond Hess. Vanessa and Tony divorced in 1967, and in 1968, 4-year-old Natasha had an uncredited role in her first film, "The Charge of the Light Brigade," which was directed by her father. Richardson attended the independent London schools the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle and St. Paul's Girls' School, then she studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
In 1973, Natasha appeared (uncredited) in the film "High Crime," and a decade later, she performed in West Yorkshire Playhouse productions of "On the Razzle," "Top Girls," and "Charley's Aunt" in Leeds. She co-starred with her mother in a 1985 West End production of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull" and with her future husband, Liam Neeson, in her 1993 Broadway debut, "Anna Christie." In the '80s, Richardson appeared in the films "Every Picture Tells a Story" (1983), "A Month in the Country" (1987), and "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989), and she portrayed Mary Shelley in 1986's "Gothic" and the title role in 1988's "Patty Hearst." She also guest-starred on the TV series "Oxbridge Blues" (1984), "Screen Two" (1985), "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" (1985), and "Worlds Beyond" (1987) and had a small role in the CBS miniseries "Ellis Island" (1984). In 1990, Natasha starred as Kate/Offred in the dystopian film "The Handmaid's Tale" alongside Faye Dunaway and Aidan Quinn, then she appeared in "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990), "The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish" (1991), "Past Midnight" (1992), "Nell" (1994), and "Widows' Peak" (1994). She co-starred with Dennis Quaid and Lindsay Lohan in 1998's "The Parent Trap," which grossed $92.1 million against a $15 million budget, and she guest-starred on "Tales from the Crypt" (1996).
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Richardson portrayed Zelda Fitzgerald in the TNT film "Zelda" (1993), and she starred in the TV movies "Hostages" (1992) and "Suddenly Last Summer" (1993). In 2001, she co-starred with Alan Rickman, Rachel Griffiths, Rachael Leigh Cook, and Josh Hartnett in the romantic comedy "Blow Dry" and appeared in the Ethan Hawke-directed film "Chelsea Walls" and the TV movie "Haven." In 2002, Natasha played Caroline Lane in the Jennifer Lopez–Ralph Fiennes film "Maid in Manhattan," which brought in $154.9 million at the box office, and she starred in "Waking Up in Reno" alongside Billy Bob Thornton, Patrick Swayze, and Charlize Theron. She co-starred with her mother and her aunt, Lynn Redgrave, in 2005's "The White Countess," and that year she also produced and starred in the drama "Asylum." In 2007, Richardson teamed up with her mother again in the film "Evening," and she starred in the TV movie "Mastersons of Manhattan." The following year, she was a guest judge in an episode of "Top Chef," and her final onscreen film appearance came in the teen comedy "Wild Child." Natasha also lent her voice to the posthumous release "The Wildest Dream" (2010), which was narrated by Neeson.
Personal Life
Natasha married filmmaker Robert Fox on December 16, 1990, and they divorced in 1992. She then wed her "Anna Christie" and "Nell" co-star Liam Neeson on July 3, 1994, at their home in Millbrook, New York, and they welcomed two sons, Micheál (born in 1995) and Daniel (born in 1996). The couple remained together until Richardson's death in 2009. Natasha was a naturalized American citizen, and she was a supporter of several AIDS charities, such as Mothers' Voices, Bailey House, and AIDS Crisis Trust. She served as an ambassador for National AIDS Trust, and she sat on the board of AmfAR (American Foundation for AIDS Research) and received the organization's Award of Courage in 2009. Richardson was inspired to get involved with these charities due to her father's 1991 death from complications from AIDS.
Death
On March 16, 2009, Natasha fell at the Mont Tremblant Resort in Quebec while she was taking a beginner ski lesson. She initially refused medical help, but a few hours later, she began complaining of a severe headache. Richardson was flown to New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, and two days later, she passed away from an epidural hematoma at the age of 45. Her family issued a statement after the sad news was announced, writing, "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha. They are profoundly grateful for the support, love, and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time." On March 19th, the lights of Broadway were dimmed in Richardson's honor, as were theatre lights in London's West End. A private funeral took place at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Millbrook on March 22nd, and Natasha was laid to rest in the churchyard near her grandmother's resting place.
Awards and Nominations
In 2001, Richardson earned a Grammy nomination for Best Spoken Word Album for "The Complete Shakespeare Sonnets." She won Evening Standard British Film Awards for Best Actress for "The Comfort of Strangers" and "The Handmaid's Tale" in 1991 and "Asylum" in 2006. In 1994, Natasha was named Best Actress for "Widows' Peak" at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and in 1995, she received a CableACE Award nomination for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries for "Zelda." In 2005, she earned a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Actress for "Asylum." For her stage work, Richardson won a Theatre World Award for "Anna Christie" and a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical for "Cabaret." She also received three Outer Critics Circle Awards: Outstanding Debut Performance for "Anna Christie," Outstanding Actress in a Musical for "Cabaret," and a Special Award for "Closer."
Real Estate
In 1994, Richardson and Neeson paid $1.4 million for a Central Park West apartment, and Liam sold it for $1.352 million in 2010. At the time of Natasha's death, the couple primarily lived in a 37-acre estate outside of Millbrook, New York, which Liam purchased shortly before their wedding.
