Posted by Adam

Tuesday March 17, 2009

Natasha Richardson has been left brain dead following a skiing accident – and is not expected to survive, according to Time Out New York.

The actress – who is married to Irish actor Liam Neeson – reportedly hit her head on the snow during a skiing lesson in Canada Monday. Her condition is said to be “critical”.

Unconfirmed reports suggest the 45-year-old suffered serious head injuries at the resort of Mont Tremblant.

Time Out New York originally claimed Richardson had died. They have now retracted the story, and released the following statement: “Time Out New York sincerely apologizes for the confusion. We stand by our sources, and our friend of the family first confirmed ‘dead’ and then called back to say ‘brain dead’. We find the situation incredibly tragic and obviously wish to only report the facts.

“We stand by our new statement that she is brain dead and not expected to survive. Unfortunately, the article was not taken down – our website crashed from traffic. Time Out New York regrets the error.”

According to TMZ, Richardson is being moved by jet to a New York City hospital.

Neeson and Richardson married in 1994 after appearing in the film Nell, and have two sons.

Speaking to the BBC, a member of Richardson’s family, who asked to remain anonymous, said the whole family was “very distressed”.

Richardson – the daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and sister of Nip/Tuck star Joely Richardson – has starred in a number of Hollywood films and acted opposite an 11-year-old Lindsay Lohan in 1998′s The Parent Trap.

She is better known for her work on the stage, winning a Tony award in 1998 for her starring role in Sam Mendes’ Broadway production of Cabaret.

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