Liam Neeson is one of the most loved action heroes in Hollywood. But life has not been easy for him; he lost his wife of 16 years to a tragic accident and had to raise his teenage boys alone. At 70 years he fell in love with a woman he could not have.

Liam Neeson is an Irish actor who has been a part of several blockbuster movies. Some of his iconic appearances can be seen in the films, “Taken,” “Star Wars,” “Batman Begins,” “Schindler’s List” and “Love Actually.”

His role in “Shindler’s List” earned him an Oscar nomination, but the 71-year-old is still unstoppable; in 2022, he released two action movies, “Memory” and “Blacklight.”

Liam Neeson in Zurich Switzerland in 2014. | Source: Getty Images

Neeson has done many films and Broadway plays, and though it seems like he’s always working, some of these movie sets brought him his greatest love.

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson’s Love Story
Neeson and Natasha Richardson shared a love that would only feel real in movies. The couple enjoyed 16 beautiful years together before a tragic accident tore them apart.

Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson in New York in 1993. | Source: Getty Images

The “Taken” star said he had never experienced that kind of chemistry with a cast mate before. Each day they performed, there was an unspoken harmony that the audience also felt and noticed.

Critics and attendees loved the magic they created on stage, which earned the actors Tony nominations. At the time of this whirlwind of romance, Richardson was still married to Robert Fox.

Fortunately for Neeson, their marriage was close to an end. While Richardson was not proud of how everything panned out, she could not lie about how deeply she had fallen for Neeson. It was another situation of bad timing, said the actress.

At the time, Neeson was 40 and had a reputation for being a lady’s man, but 29-year-old Richardson did not have a problem; in fact, she was glad many women liked him because she understood why.

The actors also worked on “Shilnder’s List” together, and for Richarchson’s 30th birthday, Neeson sent her a card and wrote, “You are catching up on me. Lots of love, Oskar” which was the name of his character in the film.

The actress was not impressed with his gesture and even felt confused about what it meant for them as a couple. So Richardson responded, “This is like a letter from a buddy. What is our relationship?”

Liam Neeson with his family at Natasha Richardson’s funeral in New York in 20019. | Source: Getty Images

Neeson did not have to ask himself twice; it became instantly clear that he loved and cared for Richardson. He realized what they shared was special and needed to be protected, so later that summer, in 1994, the couple got married.

Unfortunately, the “Blackpoint” star had to endure the tragedy of unexpectedly losing his wife to a skiing accident in 2009. The actress suffered a fatal head injury that left her brain dead.

The actor remembered arriving at the hospital in Canada, and the doctor told him the swelling in Richardson’s brain was too severe for her to survive.

Liam Neeson in New York in 2019. | Source: Getty Images

His wife was on life support, but he still told her that she had hit her head and would not be coming back, then kissed her and said he loved her.

Neeson also revealed that he and Richardson had agreed that if one of them had to live on machines, they should pull the plug. However, the actor waited a bit before pulling the plug to give his wife’s family a chance to say their last goodbyes.

Three of her organs were also donated, revealed Neeson. Her heart, liver, and kidney were able to save three other lives, which the then 70-year-old believed would be something Richardson would have appreciated.

Liam Neeson with Natasha Richardson in London in 2008. | Source: Getty Images

Five years after the incident, Neeson had an interview with Anderson Cooper and admitted that it still did not feel real that his wife was gone. However, he had to stay strong for his two sons, who were in their teens when their mother died.

The Depression of Dealing with Loss
After Richardson died, Neeson confessed that he developed a drinking problem but decided to stop. He revealed that going through three bottles of alcohol was nothing.

But for many years now, he stopped drinking hard liquor and beer. His preferred drink is a light Pinot, which is consumed in controlled doses.

Liam Neeson in New York in 2009. | Source: Getty Images

Neeson was asked if he had a favorite verse from the bible, and he mentioned one that he put on his wife’s gravestone, “Cast your bread upon the water, and it will be returned tenfold.”

While he admitted it was not a direct quote, he loved it because his wife always said it to him. He saw the glass half empty and she half full, but the actor said his perspective was changing with time.

After prematurely losing his wife, the question of faith also came up. Neeson said he believed but did not practice, and while the concept of the afterlife is a big part of faith, he was not sure if he believed in it even after Richardson’s passing.

While on the topic of tombstones, Neeson was also asked about what words he would like to be remembered by and have engraved on his gravestone.

He could not think of it immediately but remembered that on his weekly visits to Richardson, there was a civil war soldier buried next to her, and his epitaph was “Grace and Grit,” and it always caught his attention.

Neeson and his wife raised their children at a New York farmhouse, and he had to hold the house down after her death. He confessed that sometimes when the door opened, he still hoped it was her walking in, but each day of the grieving process has been different. Sometimes he will feel completely at peace, then a sudden pain in his chest hits him.

In 2016, the actor posted a memory of his wife, and his caption reflected on their time together. He wrote, “The hardest thing in the world is losing someone you love.”

But the good that came out of their 16-year marriage was that Richardson taught him how to love unconditionally, and he got to experience true joy.

So, he encouraged his fans to appreciate their spouses while they were still alive because life could change in a snap of a finger. “Live and love every day like it’s your last. Because one day, it will be,” he said.

As Neeson navigates life as a single parent, he was asked if he shared any qualities with his mother. He said it was his ability to stick to something. Neeson’s mother worked as an assistant cook at a girl’s convent for 34 years.

The actor recalled how she would walk to work and back, no matter the situation, and always carefully carried the leftovers from back home for them to eat. Therefore, he learned that sometimes you must do what you need to survive, even if it means staying at a job you hate.

Neeson also revealed that his mother’s grit came from the need to provide for her family since his father did not make much money.

Raising teenage boys can be challenging, but Neeson was proud of how well-mannered he raised his sons to be. He said he and Richardson always wanted their kids to be respectful and have manners.

Although the possibility of his boys getting into drugs worried him constantly, he trusted them to be responsible. So when he hears people praising them for being kind and respectful, he feels that he has made himself and his wife proud.

A few years after losing his wife, the actor admitted that he had not figured out the life of being a single father because he took it day by day.