How did Liam Neeson meet Natasha Richardson? Relationship timeline explored 

Natasha Richardson & Liam Neeson - Source: Getty
Natasha Richardson & Liam Neeson (Image via Getty)

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson had a whirlwind romance that began in 1993. The actors starred opposite one another in a Broadway show and the connection was instant despite Natasha being married at the time. Richardson would split from husband Robert Fox once the play had wrapped enabling the two to pursue their romance. The actress would also mention that her marriage was already in shambles at the time.

A year later, in 1994, the two were married. They started a family together, having two sons and an idyllic life. Sadly, tragedy struck in 2009 when Natasha was involved in a skiing accident leaving her with a severe brain injury to which she would eventually succumb.

In an interview with People in 2024, Neeson shared,

"It was a horrible thing to happen. Everybody just pulled together.”

Neeson has done his best to approach the situation delicately in the time since his late wife’s passing, though he has mentioned that he thinks Natasha would be beaming with pride over the men her two boys have become.


Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson: Relationship at a glance

After finalizing her divorce from Robert Fox, the pair’s romance continued to blossom. Liam Neeson sent her a 30th birthday card from the set of Schindler’s List, they made their first ever red carpet appearance as a couple at the Tony’s, and she even laid down the law when it came to him potentially playing the role of James Bond on screen.

A year later in 1994, Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson tied the knot. It was described as an intimate backyard ceremony in Millbrook, New York. According to PEOPLE,

“the roughly 70 A-list guests included Emma Thompson, Steven Spielberg, Mia Farrow, among others.”

That year they also starred in Nell, their first film together.

The duo reached their next major milestone together in 1995, with the birth of their first son Michéal. A year later, they welcomed their second child Daniel to the world. Though the couple was overjoyed, Richardson had shared publicly that the timing was somewhat unexpected.

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson remained content in wedded bliss until a trip in 2009 would change their fates. While Neeson was in Toronto, Canada on the set of a film, Natasha had elected to go on a skiing trip in Mont Tremblant, a resort located roughly two hours from Montreal. There, during a lesson on a ‘beginner slope’ on the mountain, Richardson fell and hit her head. According to a report by NBC News, she was not wearing a helmet at the time.

As her condition worsened she was evacuated to a Montreal hospital where Liam Neeson met her and received the news. He opened up about their last call with Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes years later. According to the actor she had told him,

“’Oh darling. I've taken a tumble in the snow.' That's how she described it.”

By the time the actor arrived to see his wife, the doctor informed him that Richardson was "brain dead”. Liam Neeson shared that he and Richardson had agreed if,

“Any of us got into a vegetative state that we'd pull the plug."

She was eventually moved to New York City's Lenox Hill Hospital, so her family and friends could say their finally goodbyes before Neeson honoured her wish.

In the same interview with Cooper, 6 years after Natasha’s death, Neeson shared the following on his ability to navigate the pain.

"Grief's like — it hits you. It's like a wave," Neeson continued. "You just get this profound feeling of instability. You feel like a three-legged table. Just suddenly ... the Earth isn't stable anymore. And then it passes and becomes more infrequent, but I still get it sometimes."

Liam still talks fondly of Natasha, the unequivocal love of his life to this day. It's beautiful to see her memory still kept alive by her doting husband, and children all these years later.

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Edited by Ayesha Mendonca