Actor Liam Neeson was among the pallbearers at the private funeral for his wife, Natasha Richardson, on Sunday at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Lithgow, N.Y., near the home where the two married in 1994. The actress was buried near the grave of her maternal grandmother, Rachel Kempson, who died in 2003 while visiting Richardson and Neeson at their home in nearby Millbrook.
The graveside service was attended by Richardson’s mother, actress Vanessa Redgrave, and sister Joely Richardson. Her coffin bore an Irish claddagh, signifying love, friendship and loyalty.
Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Laura Linney, Uma Thurman and Timothy Dalton were among the friends in attendance Sunday.
Neeson, who is Irish, received a stream of celebrity mourners at a private six-hour viewing on Friday at the American Irish Historical Society’s headquarters in New York. Visitors included Fiennes, Thurman, Ethan Hawke, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kenneth Cole, Diane Sawyer, Lauren Bacall and Howard Stern .
Richardson, a Tony-Award winning actress, died at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York on Wednesday as a result of head trauma suffered while skiing in Canada last week. She was 45.
Richardson is survived by her sons with Neeson, Micheal, 13, and Daniel, 12.
