Natasha Richardson Brain Dead After Ski Accident

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After the unfortunate accident of Natasha Richardson, the actress wife of actor Liam Neeson, while she was taking a private ski lesson on the Nansen, a beginners' run at Mont Tremblant without a ski helmet, Fox news reports that Natasha is brain dead.

On Wednesday morning, People reported:

"There is no chance," a family friend told PEOPLE on Tuesday night. "It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead."

Her dire condition - doctors described it to those close to Richards as "leakage of blood between the brain and skull," the friend says - has the actress's family coming to grips with potentially having to make an unthinkably difficult decision. "It's not official yet," says the friend, "but they basically will detach her."

There was also a report about a vigil for Natasha Richarson hours after she was flown via private jet to New York from Canada.

Later, Fox News updated Natasha is brain dead and would probably be taken off life support.

Sources close to Tony-award winning actress Natasha Richardson tell FOXNews.com that the 45-year-old actress is brain dead, and being transported back to New York City before she is to be taken off life support.

And although The TONY first reported:

Although public reports have not yet confirmed it, sources close to Richardson's family and friends say they have already been told the awful news: She will not survive the accident, and is currently brain dead.

Later The TONY updated their story with a clarification about their initial RIP headline, seen below:

TONY's sources have clarified the situation: Richardson is brain dead but has not passed away. Sources close to the family indicate that they are treating it as a death. We will update you on this sad story as circumstances warrant. We apologize to the family and to our readers.

Natasha Richardson has starred in a number of Hollywood films and acted opposite an 11-year-old Lindsay Lohan in 1998's The Parent Trap. But she is better known for her work on the stage, winning a Tony award in 1998 for her starring role in Sam Mendes' Broadway production of Cabaret.

Update (19th March, 2009):

A few minutes back Sky News reported that British actress Natasha Richardson died after her life support machine was turned off in hospital. May her soul rest in peace.