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The actor Liam Neeson said tonight that he was shocked and devastated by the death of his wife, Natasha Richardson, at a New York hospital after a skiing accident.

Richardson, 45, was reported braindead after a fall during a skiing lesson in Canada on Monday from which she was initially able to walk away. She was flown by private jet to New York from Montreal on Tuesday, wrapped in blankets with tubes covering her face, and taken to Lenox Hill Hospital.

Yesterday, as the famous acting clan gathered by her bedside, it was reported that she had been taken off life support.

Neeson’s publicist then announced her death. “Liam Neeson, his sons and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha,” Alan Nierob said. “They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone and ask for privacy during this very difficult time.”

Neeson, who starred in Schindler’s List, had accompanied her on board the private jet. He is said to have held her hand and caressed her face during the journey.

Wearing a grey wool hat, a baggy jacket, scarf and jeans, Neeson looked haggard and exhausted with big bags under his eyes as he returned home after the announcement of his wife's death. The actor left the hospital in a black Escalade 4x4 and waved wanly to wellwishers as he arrived back at his West Side home carrying an overnight bag.

The celebrity news website People.com said that the actress had suffered a leakage of blood between the brain and the skull.

Her mother, Vanessa Redgrave, appeared dazed after flying into New York from London to be at her daughter’s bedside. Following her were Richardson’s younger sister, Joely, who stars in the US drama Nip/Tuck. Richardson’s sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, were also seen at the hospital, along with a niece, Daisy Bevan. Friends told the press that Michael was with his mother on the ski slope when she fell and that Daniel was in New York. Neeson, 56, had been filming in Toronto.

Richardson, whose father was the director Tony Richardson, fell on a nursery slope at Mont Tremblant, a resort about 80 miles (128 km) northwest of Montreal. She had not been wearing a helmet.

Her ski instructor saw her fall and summoned the ski patrol to check her over but Richardson laughed off suggestions that she needed medical attention and returned to her hotel room.

An hour later she complained of a splitting headache and was taken to a local hospital.

A spokeswoman for the resort where Richardson had been staying said that the actress had shown no external sign of injury or bleeding.

Tributes poured in last night from New York’s theatre world. The actress Angela Lansbury recalled seeing Richardson’s Tony award-winning performance as Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes’s Broadway production of Cabaret. “She was just outstanding. She has done so many wonderful roles in the theatre and in movies,” Lansbury said. “A most accomplished and lovely actress, mother and wife.”

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