Natasha Richardson would 'swoon with love' over Liam Neeson: co-star

New York Post

2 days ago

Elaine Hendrix is remembering her 'The Parent Trap' co-star Natasha Richardson with double the love.
Opposite Hendrix's scheming Meredith Blake, Richardson — who died in 2009 at the age of 45 — played Elizabeth James, the loving mother of twins Hallie Parker and Annie James (Lindsay Lohan) in the 1998 Disney film.
7 In 'The Parent Trap,' Richardson played Elizabeth James, the loving mother to twins Hallie Parker and Annie James.
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
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Hendrix exclusively told The Post that she wasn't sure what it would be like working with Richardson.
A member of the Redgrave acting family and known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of 'Cabaret,' Richardson was 'theater, Hollywood [and] acting royalty,' Hendrix explained.
But on set, Hendrix, 54, recalled that the 'Maid in Manhattan' actress was 'warm and sweet.'
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7 During her interview with The Post, Hendrix recalled that Richardson was 'warm and sweet.'
The New York Post
'It's no wonder she was cast as Elizabeth,' Hendrix said. 'I mean, really smart move, Nancy [Meyers] and Charles [Shyer].' Meyers wrote and directed the remake of the 1961 original, while Shyer served as co-writer and producer on the film.
Before her death, Richardson had been married to fellow actor Liam Neeson since 1994. The couple were together for 15 years and shared two sons, Micheál, 30, and Daniel, 28. Neeson, 73, is now reportedly dating his 'The Naked Gun' co-star Pamela Anderson.
7 Richardson and Neeson were married for 15 years before her death.
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7 The couple shared two sons: Micheál, 30, and Daniel, 28.
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Hendrix remembered the refrigerator in Richardson's trailer being covered with photos of Neeson and their children. Anytime someone mentioned her family, Hendrix said, 'she would swoon with love. They were madly in love, and she was crazy about her kids.'
That kind of devotion to her family, Hendrix explained, made Richardson's death 'all the more tragic' — and her performance in 'The Parent Trap' all the more meaningful.
'I'm so glad that her being was captured in this movie,' she said. 'It's such a fitting memory of her, such a fitting tribute to her.'
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7 Richardson as Elizabeth James and Dennis Quaid as Nick Parker in 'The Parent Trap.'
Richardson died in March 2009 from an epidural hematoma following a skiing accident in Quebec, Canada.
The late star met Neeson in 1993 while working on the Broadway production of 'Anna Christie.' Five years after her death, Neeson recalled visiting his wife in the hospital during a 2014 interview with Anderson Cooper on '60 Minutes.'
He was told by doctors that Richardson, who was transferred to Montreal hospital Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal following her accident, was brain dead and on life support.
7 Richardson and Neeson met in 1993 while working on 'Anna Christie.'
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'I went in to her and told her I loved her,' Neeson told Cooper. '[I] said, 'Sweetie, you're not coming back from this. You've banged your head. It's — I don't know if you can hear me, but that's — this is what's gone down.'
Richardson was later flown to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she ultimately passed away.
Neeson was suddenly a single father to their two young children, who were just 13 and 12 when they lost their mother. At the time, the 'Taken' star told People in 2024 that his primary focus was 'making sure they were okay.'
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7 Neeson, his sons and his sister-in-law, Joely Richardson, at Natasha's funeral in 2009.
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He also recalled his mother-in-law, Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, 88, and sister-in-law Joely Richardson, 60, stepping in to help.
'Everybody just pulled together. Vanessa and Joely were extraordinary,' he told the outlet. 'We were fortunate in lots of ways.'