Love doesn’t quit on you — just ask the cast of the Naked Gun reboot. Liam Neeson is quietly moving forward, but not without looking back at his late wife, Natasha Richardson, who tragically died in a skiing accident in 2009 at age 45. Now 71, Liam and his son Daniel, 28, are openly backing his budding romance with Pamela Anderson, who just wrapped her final performance of Camino Real in Massachusetts. On Watch What Happens Live, host Andy Cohen, a close friend of Natasha’s, gave the relationship his seal of approval, saying everyone is “very much stanning this.” So, is Liam and Pamela’s connection real? Their friends and family seem pretty convinced. But Neeson’s journey to finding love again wasn’t easy.
Liam Neeson met and fell in love with Natasha Richardson while on Broadway
Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson’s romance was a whirlwind of a love story. The two met in 1992 while preparing for the Broadway staging of Anna Christie. Despite Natasha being married to English theatre and film producer Robert Fox at the time, the chemistry between the Irish hunk and British beauty was clear right from the very start. In a 2014 interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes, Neeson himself said that he had “never had that kind of explosive chemistry situation with an actor or actress” before. So, by the end of Anna Christie’s 53-show run in 1993, Richardson ended her strained marriage with Fox, making room for her relationship with Neeson to blossom into something much more.
Liam Neeson and Natasha Richardson didn’t wait long to get married
The two lovebirds didn’t wait very long to tie the knot. A year later, on July 3, 1994, Neeson and Richardson married in a private ceremony in upstate New York. Steven Spielberg and Emma Thompson were among the star-studded guests at their nuptials. Added to the proceedings was a special performance by Richardson herself. Neeson’s new bride chose to serenade him with a performance of Van Morrison’s Crazy Love at their ceremony. She had been practising in secret for the big day and managed to keep it a surprise until the very last moment.
In a 2016 interview with SiriusXM Radio (as per Marie Claire), Neeson reminisced about the moment, stating, “Behind my back, Natasha had been taking singing lessons to sing it to me,” adding, “After the ceremony, we were all walking out to start the night’s festivities, and she seized the microphone and sang me this. She had learnt it, and I was like, ‘Wow!'”
The actors had two beautiful children together
Just eleven months after their wedding, the beautiful Hollywood couple welcomed their first child into the world, a healthy baby boy named Micheál. The very next year, 1996, they were blessed with another son whom they named Daniel. While Liam’s career really took off during this time, Natasha was very selective in the projects she took on so that she could prioritise spending time with her family. Neeson added a string of major projects to his name, including Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Batman Begins, and Taken. Natasha, on the other hand, starred in just a few feature films and theatrical productions, including her well-known role as Elizabeth James in The Parent Trap.
“I want my sons to be my priority,” Richardson once said, as per People. The actress made sure that she was never away from home for too long and that her sons always had at least one parent home with them at all times.
Natasha Richardson, died unexpectedly, shattering Liam’s world
Then tragedy struck, stealing Natasha from Liam and the children much too soon. In March 2009, the Tony Award-winning actress flew to Canada’s Mont Tremblant ski resort with her two sons, ages 13 and 12. During the trip, she chose to take a private ski lesson with an instructor and suffered a nasty fall. Unfortunately, the British actress was not wearing a helmet at the time and hit her head, but brushed off the incident as minor.
Neeson remembers speaking to her after the fall. “I spoke to her, and she said, ‘Oh, darling, I’ve taken a tumble in the snow.’ That’s how she described it,” he told Anderson Cooper of 60 Minutes. But the fall was much worse than she thought. Richardson was eventually taken to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, where she died just two days later from an epidural haematoma.
Liam was heartbroken and turned to work and alcohol
While family looked out for Liam Neeson and his sons following his wife’s tragic passing, he still struggled bitterly with the loss of Natasha and turned to work and alcohol as coping mechanisms. “I think I survived by running away some,” he shared with Esquire magazine in 2011. He admitted that he had run “away to work” as a way to distract himself from the pain of his wife’s death.
But work was not enough to fill the void, and alcohol became a crutch for him, too. In 2014, Neeson revealed to GQ that he started drinking more after Natasha’s passing. “I was drinking too much. It started since my wife died. It was like, so easy to just… Never at work, never would do it like that, but this time of night? … I’d be on my second bottle [of wine]” he shared.
After some time, Liam got back on his feet
The actor made the decision to change his life in 2013 by quitting drinking altogether. Despite not being an alcoholic, the actor told People that he wanted to set a better example for his two sons. “I never got sloshed, I never got drunk drunk ever, I don’t think,” he told the magazine. “I don’t think my character changed much. I was a jolly drinker.” The actor continued: “But it was just getting to the stage where, [I’d] get on the telephone at 6 o’clock at night, open a bottle of wine, and after an hour the bottle was finished, just open another one.”
“I just thought, ‘This isn’t a good example for my boys, so I’m just going to quietly stop.”
His kids, Micheál and Daniel, grew up
Sixteen years after the accident, Micheál and Daniel are all grown up and have followed in their parents’ footsteps. Micheál (30) is an actor and has even appeared alongside his father on screen in films like Cold Pursuit and Made in Italy. However, you will find his surname as Richardson in the credits, as he legally changed it in 2018 to honour his late mother. Daniel (28), the youngest of the two, attended Tulane University to study theatre. He also launched a tequila brand called De Nada, inspired by his late mother’s love of margaritas.
Even with the challenges of being a single dad, the famed actor has always spoken fondly of his parenting journey. Back in 2012, he shared with Her magazine how he felt it was “an ongoing joy being a dad,” continuing, “It’s always a joy, but it’s a joyful worry.”
Liam Neeson became even more successful
Liam Neeson has accumulated a pretty respectable filmography since throwing himself into his career following the death of his wife in 2009. Think action-packed flicks like Taken 2, Non-Stop, A Walk Among the Tombstones, and Taken 3, to name but a few. This lineup of films has pretty much cemented the Irish actor’s status as one of Hollywood’s go-to action heroes. Even at the age of 73, Neeson is still receiving scripts to star in action-packed roles. But he managed to add a bit of comedic relief to his repertoire with his latest film, The Naked Gun. However, this change of pace may be a once-off experience for the action star.
“I think it’s probably a one-off,” Neeson said in an interview with Newsweek. “Not that the experience wasn’t great, it was.”
Liam believed he’d never date anyone again
Neeson seems to have sworn off love in his golden years. Although the award-winning actor has had a few romances after his late wife’s passing, including a two-year romance with U.K.-based public relations consultant Freya St. Johnston, none have lasted.
In an October cover story for People, the Oscar-nominated actor took a moment to explain his current approach to dating—or lack thereof. When asked if he still dates, the Taken star said, “No, in a word. I’m past all that.” He also mentioned that he prefers to spend time with his two sons when he is not filming a movie.
Liam Neeson has found love again with Naked Gun co-star Pamela Anderson
Liam Neeson may have been a bit too hasty in swearing off love at his age. It seems that the 73-year-old may have more than a little spark with his The Naked Gun co-star Pamela Anderson. The two have shared a number of more than friendly interactions while promoting their new film, including kisses on the cheek and gushing compliments. Although their relationship status has yet to be confirmed, Neeson’s close acquaintances are said to be in favour of him pursuing a romance with Anderson.
During a recent episode of the SiriusXM show (as per CNN), talk show host Andy Cohen revealed that he and others who were close to Natasha Richardson are “very much stanning whatever this is”. Still, only time will tell if Liam’s tragic love story will finally get the happy ending it deserves.
