Actress Natasha Richardson Brain Dead

The legendary artist Liam Neeson said tonight that he was shaken and distressed by the demise of his spouse Natasha Richardson at a New York hospital after a skiing accident.

Richardson, 45, was reported “brain-dead” after a plunge during a skiing class in Canada on Monday from which she was originally able to walk away. She was flown to New York from Montreal on Tuesday, draped in blankets with tubes covering her face, and taken to Lenox Hill Hospital.

Yesterday, as the famous acting family gathered by her bedside, it was informed that she had been taken off life support.

Neeson’s publicist then publicized her death. “Liam Neeson, his sons, and the whole family are shocked and devastated by the disastrous death of their beloved Natasha,” Alan Nierob said. “They are intensely grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”