Liam Neeson’s Son Micheal Changes Last Name in Tribute to Late Mother

Liam Neeson’s son, Micheal, has changed his last name in honor of his late mother, Natasha Richardson, according to a report by The Daily Mail.

Richardson passed away in 2009 in a tragic skiing accident near Quebec, Canada. As the 10-year anniversary of her death approaches, 22-year-old Micheal reportedly decided to take his mother’s maiden name, making her legacy a permanent part of his identity.

“He’s taken, officially, the name of his mother. He’s Micheál Richardson, not Micheál Neeson,” said Micheal’s maternal grandmother, Vanessa Redgrave. “That wasn’t because he wanted to avoid his father’s fame, which is enormous. He wanted to hold his mother close to him — because she was a remarkable actress. Absolutely remarkable.”

Richardson was a legendary stage actress, who took home the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her role as Sally Bowles in Cabaret on Broadway in 1999. She was also nominated for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for her role as Anna in Anna Christie in 1993.

Richardson did lots of work in film and television as well, including several leading roles in series throughout the 1980s and 90s, and some iconic movie parts. Notably, she played Kate in the 1990 film version of The Handmaid’s Tale.

Richardson married Neeson in 1994. He was her second husband, and they were already living together in Millbrook, New York. Micheal was the first of their two sons, followed by Daniel in 1996. They were married until Richardson’s passing in 2009.

The actress sustained a serious head injury during a skiing lesson at the Mont Tremblant Resort in March of 2009. She was flown back to New York City, where she received care at the Lenox Hill Hospital. Ultimately, she died two days later from an epidural hematoma. Micheal was 13 years old at the time. Back in 2015, he opened up about the tragedy in an interview with The Sunday Times. He admitted that the loss was “devastating,” but he did his best to avoid his feelings for many years.

“In my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside,” he explained. “And so, within the next week I was like, ‘OK, on with my life.’”

Micheal went through a phase of non-stop partying, drinking and experiment with drugs, which he now feels all stemmed from his repressed emotions. He moved to New York City, where he said he was “partying a lot, looking for self-gratification. I wanted to be the man, doing these drugs.”

“Everybody said, ‘This kid has lost his mum, that’s where the problem comes from,’” he went on. “And I was, like, ‘No it isn’t, I just like to party.’ But looking back, I realize it was a delayed reaction.”