Report: Natasha Richardson is brain dead

NEW YORK, March 17 (UPI) -- Natasha Richardson is brain dead after suffering a head injury in a Canadian skiing accident, a source close to her family told the New York Daily News.

OK! magazine had reported on its Web site that Richardson had died after her loved ones decided to take her off life support Tuesday. However, the story was later removed without an immediate explanation. Time Out New York also reported her death on its Web site Tuesday, but later issued an apology stating Richardson was brain dead, but still alive.

The British-born actress is the daughter of stage and film great Vanessa Redgrave and the late director-producer Tony Richardson. She also is the sister of actress Joely Richardson and the wife of Northern Irish actor Liam Neeson, her co-star in the 1994 movie "Nell."

She has two sons with Neeson -- 13-year-old Micheal and 12-year-old Daniel.

Richardson appeared in the movies "Gothic," "Blow Dry," "The Parent Trap," "Haven," "Maid in Manhattan," "Asylum" and "The White Countess." She won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway revival of the musical "Cabaret."

"Batman Begins," "Schindler's List" and "Michael Collins" star Neeson can be seen in the current release "Taken."

He left the Toronto set of his movie "Chloe" immediately to fly to Montreal where his wife was hospitalized after her accident Monday, a representative for the film told IrishCentral.com.

The Daily News said Neeson accompanied Richardson on the flight home from Montreal to New York where her family gathered Tuesday to say goodbye to the actress.

Richardson reportedly sustained her injuries while skiing on a beginners' slope at a Quebec resort with at least one of her sons.

"(Richardson has) been on life support since this morning," an unnamed source close to the family told the newspaper. "She is brain dead."