Family and friends bid final farewell to beloved Natasha

MEGHAN SWEENEY,

IrishCentral.com Staff Writer

Published Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 8:59 PM

Updated Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:05 PM

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Natasha Richardson and Liam Neeson

Photo by PA

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IrishCentral.com's own Father Tim on loss and death

Natasha Richardson’s family and close friends said farewell to the beautiful and talented actress, wife, mother, daughter and sister today at a small, private funeral service in upstate New York.

It has been almost a week since Richardson’s tragic accident on a Montreal ski slope on Monday, March 16.

Her funeral service took place at 2 p.m. today at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, close to the Millbrook, N.Y. home Richardson shared with her husband, Liam Neeson, and their two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12.

Along with Neeson and the children, Richardson's mother, Vanessa Redgrave, sister, Joely Richardson, and fellow actors Ralph Fiennes, Laura Linney and Alan Rickman all attended the funeral.

Richardson, who was 45, was laid to rest in the nearby St. Peter's cemetery. Her casket was emblazoned with the Irish claddagh symbol, which stands for love, loyalty and friendship.

Family craft

The eldest daughter of Vanessa Redgrave and the late Tony Richardson, the niece of Lynn Redgrave and Corin Redgrave, and granddaughter of the legendary Michael Redgrave, and sister of Joely Richardson, she pursued the family craft with distinction.

She made her film debut in 1968 at the age of 4, in “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” which was directed by her father.

Richardson made her feature film debut as Mary Shelley in Ken Russell's "Gothic" (1986). Her performance caught the attention of director Paul Schrader, who cast her in the title role in "Patty Hearst" (1988).

Since then, Ms. Richardson has achieved notable success in such films as Pat O'Connor's "A Month in the Country" (1987), Roland Joffé's "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989) and "The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish" (1991), featuring Bob Hoskins and Jeff Goldblum.

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