Joely Richardson marked what would have been Natasha Richardson’s 62nd birthday with a tribute on Instagram on Monday, posting photographs of her late sister with Liam Neeson and writing that 11 May is forever her birthday.
Richardson said her sister left this earthly plane 17 years ago, a reference to Natasha Richardson’s death in March 2009 after a head injury sustained in a skiing accident in Quebec. She was 45 years old.
In the post, Joely Richardson said Natasha Richardson’s 1994 wedding to Neeson was one of the happiest times of her life and recalled that she and others danced until dawn. She also said the photos, which she described as public-domain screen grabs that kept surfacing again amid the 1990s revival, captured the glamour, warmth and humour of the couple.
Natasha Richardson was an acclaimed British stage and screen actor who shared two children, Micheál and Daniel, with Neeson. The tribute landed days after another family reminder of how much time has passed: Natasha Richardson’s first husband, Robert Fox, died in March at 73 after prostate cancer. Richardson and Fox were married from 1990 to 1992.
The post also comes after Neeson addressed his own personal life in 2024, telling People magazine, “No, in a word. I’m past all that,” after being asked whether he was involved with anyone. He had previously been reported to be dating business executive Freya St Johnston after Richardson’s death, and the two later separated in 2012 after two years. For Joely Richardson, though, the focus was fixed on a birthday she said never stops belonging to her sister, and on a marriage she described as one of the brightest moments in Natasha Richardson’s life.
