Monday, 23 March 2009

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Natasha Richardson is laid to rest in upstate New York

Friends and family say goodbye to respected actress

Natasha Richardson starred in The Parent Trap with Lindsay Lohan

Family and friends of Natasha Richardson said their final goodbye to the star of stage and film during a funeral at St. Peter's Church in Millbrook, N.Y., on Sunday.

Under bright sun on a cold spring day, Richardson's husband Liam Neeson, their sons, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12, her mother Vanessa Redgrave, her sister Joely Richardson and friends Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes and Mia Farrow arrived at St. Peter's Church at 2:30 p.m.


Neeson, looking somber in a dark suit and sunglasses, briefly posed for photographers with his family before walking to the hearse, where he was the first to put his hand on the mahogany casket, which he and six other pallbearers carried to the church.

The ceremony lasted a little more than an hour. As the funeral ended, the sky became overcast. Neeson and the family drove to a nearby cemetery where the burial took place under a large green tent. There, a grieving Vanessa Redgrave gave a thumbs-up to the fans and reporters who had gathered.

Richardson was laid to rest in the same cemetery where her grandmother Rachel Redgrave, the mother of Vanessa Redgrave, and better known by her stage name Rachel Kempson, is buried. The two plots face each other.

After the burial service, Neeson joined Vanessa on a short walk to Rachel's grave, where they paid their respects to the Redgrave family matriarch. Lynn followed afterwards.

At 4:45 p.m., Neeson left the cemetery after his final goodbye.

Neeson shared a home nearby with his late wife, who died after a ski accident that resulted in severe brain trauma.

^{By Caroline Howard}