Natasha Richardson Biography
Summary
"Natasha Jane Richardson" (born May 11, 1963) is a Tony Award-winning English/American actress and member of the Redgrave family, an enduring theatrical dynasty. She is well-known through several leading roles in films, however, she is most famous through her award-winning roles on Broadway.
Biography
Early life
Richardson was born in London into the Redgrave family, an enduring theatrical dynasty, and named after the heroine in Leo Tolstoy's famous novel, "War and Peace". She is the daughter of the late director and producer Tony Richardson and Academy Award-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, and a granddaughter of the late actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson. Her sister is Joely Richardson. She is also the niece of actress Lynn Redgrave and actor Corin Redgrave, and cousin of Jemma Redgrave. Richardson made her film debut at the age of four in a film directed by her father, "Charge of the Light Brigade", in the year 1968. She attended St. Paul's Girls' School for several years, and then trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama.
Career
Richardson began her career in regional theatre, at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England. Her screen debut in "Every Picture Tells a Story" in 1984 , was followed by a CBS miniseries, "Ellis Island". A year later, Richardson appeared in a revival of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull"; her first professional work in London's West End. That same year she made her UK television debut alongside Jeremy Brett and David Burke in "The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes" appearing as Violet Hunter in the episode 'The Copper Beeches'. Soon after, she starred in a London stage production of "High Society", adapted from the acclaimed Cole Porter film, and successively portrayed Mary Godwin in the 1987 Ken Russell film, "Gothic". The same year she starred opposite Kenneth Branagh and Colin Firth in "A Month in the Country", directed by Pat O'Connor. A major moment in advancement was upon her performance in "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990), playing opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway.
She blocked the ITV remake of "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning", against the wishes of writer Alan Sillitoe, for 'personal reasons'. Danny Brocklehurst's adaptation was to be a major reworking for the original 1950s novel. But Richardson denied access to the story - angering many industry professionals who believe the novel is due a reappraisal, forty seven years after the original film - produced by Richardson's father - was made.
Personal life
Her first marriage was to theatrical producer Robert Fox, from 1984 to 1993. She has been married to Irish actor Liam Neeson since late 1994. Richardson and Neeson have two sons: Micheál Richard Antonio Neeson (born June 22, 1995), and Daniel Jack Neeson (born August 27, 1996).
Filmography
"On The Razzle" (1983, stage play)
"Top Girls" (1983, stage play)
"Charley's Aunt" (1983, stage play)
"The Seagull" (1985, stage play) - Nina
"A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1985, stage play) - Helena
"Hamlet" (1985, stage play) - Ophelia
"Gothic" (1986) - Mary Shelley
"High Society" (1987, stage play) - Tracey
"Patty Hearst" (1988) - Patricia Hearst
"The Handmaid's Tale" (1990) - Kate/Offred
"The Comfort of Strangers" (1990) - Mary
"The Favour, the Watch and the Very Big Fish" (1991) - Sybil
"Anna Christie" (1993, stage play) - Anna
"Nell" (1994) - Dr. Paula Olsen
"Widows' Peak" (1994) - Mrs Edwina Broome
"Cabaret" (1998, stage play) - Sally
"The Parent Trap" (1998) - Elizabeth James
"Closer" (1999, stage play) - Anna
"Haven" (2001) - Ruth Gruber
"Blow Dry" (2001) - Shelley Allen
"Maid in Manhattan" (2002) - Caroline Lane
"The Lady From The Sea" (2003, stage play)
"A Streetcar Named Desire" (2005, stage play) - Blanche
"The White Countess" (2005) - Countess Sofia Belinskya
"Asylum" (2005) - Stella Raphael
"Evening" (2007) - Constance Lord
External links
(Interpreting Tennessee Williams) - "Working in the Theatre Seminar" video at American Theatre Wing.org, April 2005
(Performance) - "Working in the Theatre Seminar" video at American Theatre Wing.org, April 1998
(Production: Anna Christie) - "Working in the Theatre Seminar" video at American Theatre Wing.org, January 1993
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Natasha Richardson.
