Liam Neeson's son Micheál changes last name to honor mum Natasha Richardson who died in a tragic ski accident in 2009
Richardson's mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave was the first person to speak about her grandson's name change
Liam Neeson‘s son Micheál is trying to pay the ultimate tribute to his late mother, 'Parent Trap' actress Natasha Richardson, in the best way he can: by changing his last name to hers. According to reports by People, the 23-year-old has changed his last name from Neeson to Richardson.
Richardson died at the age of 45 after suffering a fatal accident while she was skiing at Mont Tremblant in Quebec, which resulted in blunt force trauma. At the time of her death, Neeson and Richardson’s sons Micheál and Daniel were 13 and 12, respectively.
Richardson's mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave was the first person to speak about her grandson's name change. “That wasn’t because he wanted to avoid his father’s fame, which is enormous. He wanted to hold his mother close to him — because she was a remarkable actress. Absolutely remarkable.”
Back in 2015, during an interview, Micheál had spoken about the difficult years that followed his mother’s death. “In my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside,” he told The Sunday Times. “And so, within the next week, I was like, ‘Okay, on with my life.’ “
He also spoke about how his mother's passing away eventually caught on to him, explaining, “Things just started going downhill. The people I was with, we were partying a lot. It was dark. I hit rock bottom. Everybody said, ‘This kid has lost his mum, that’s where the problem comes from.’ And I was like, ‘No, it isn’t, I just like to party.’ But looking back I realize it was a delayed reaction,” Micheál continued to the outlet.
As reported previously, after her tragic fall, Richardson refused to take an ambulance, but she was taken to the hospital in Montreal when her health started to gradually decline. It was then that her husband, who was at the time shooting in Toronto, joined her at the hospital.
“I was told she was brain dead. And seeing this X-ray it was, like, ‘Wow,'” Neeson told Anderson Cooper in 2014. “But obviously she was on life support and stuff. And I went in to [see] her and told her I loved her. 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. And we’re bringing ya back to New York. All your family and friends will come.’ And that was more or less it.”
And after his wife's death, Neeson decided to devote all his time into shaping up his career. “I’m not good without work,” he said. “I just don’t — I just don’t wallow too much. You know? And I just didn’t want to – especially for my boys — seem to be wallowing in sadness or depression.”
