It Brings Tears to Our Eyes

Death is never an easy thing to deal with, and tragic death is even worse. When a celebrity dies, it's often hard to deal with because we really feel like we know the person. Celebrities are all over TV, movies and magazine covers, and sometimes you feel like you see Lindsay Lohan more than your own mom. Remember when Heath Ledger died and how shook up everyone was? He was young, it was unexpected and, weird or not, you feel like you knew the guy.

That's exactly how we felt when we heard about Natasha Richardson. While she was definitely not as high-profile as Heath Ledger, she was a talented actress who appeared in more than one movie we loved. She was a solid stand-by -- she may not have appeared in People magazine every week, but that was okay. She was private, which means she was home with her family and not out at parties or clubs.

By far, our favorite role Natasha played was as Lindsay Lohan's mother in The Parent Trap. Even though we're getting up there in years, and Lindsay Lohan has become the complete reverse of her cute character in what was her breakout role, that is still one of our favorite movies of all time. In fact, when we see it's on TV we don't pause before deciding to watch it; it's immediate. Natasha was so perfect in the role we almost felt like she was our mother and we were her long-lost daughter.

But it wasn't just her roles in countless movies and plays that made us appreciate her. She was one-half of a successful Hollywood marriage that was going on 15 years. After co-starring in the Broadway revival of Anna Christie Natasha and Liam Neeson fell "madly, passionately in love" and married a year later. Richardson said of her husband, "I can't believe I was lucky enough to meet my soul mate." Liam and Natasha found true love in a business where celebrities are infamous for divorce after divorce after divorce. The couple are the proud parents of two sons and it brings tears to our eyes to think about the loss of the boys' mother and Liam's soul-mate. It reminds us of Liam's character in Love Actually who also tragically lost his wife at too young an age. Of all the things in the movie to come true (Hugh Grant as Prime Minister? Yes please!), this was one thing we never would have expected.

Broadway will dim its lights tonight in her memory and celebrities are already paying tribute to the Tony-award winning actress.

Ralph Fiennes her co-star in Maid in Manhattan and longtime friend said, "I cannot imagine a world without her wit, her love, her mischief, her great, great talent and her gift for living. I loved her very much. She was a supreme friend. I shall miss her deeply."

Jane Fonda, who was friends with Natasha's mother Vanessa Redgrave, commented, "I first met her on the set of Julia. She was a little girl but already beautiful and graceful. It didn't surprise me that she became such a talented actor. My heart is heavy."

Alan Cumming who costarred with Richardson in her Tony-winning performance writes, "The term 'life force' seems trite but that is what she was: a woman who powered through life and fascinated everyone she encountered. I have been thinking about the times I spent with her since I heard the news of her tragic accident, and the strongest memory I have is of her laughter, her unmistakable throaty laugh. I think that's a great way to remember someone."

For our own tribute to Natasha Richardson, we've found a clip from our favorite role of hers in The Parent Trap. RIP.