Liam Neeson & Natasha Richardson’s Son Micheál Paid Tribute To His Late Mother By Changing His Surname

May 04, 2022 by apost team

Liam Neeson is an Irish actor who has received several accolades and awards throughout his career and has been recognized as being one of the greatest film actors to ever come from Ireland. Born on June 7, 1952, he grew up with a love for the arts and worked hard to make his dreams become reality. He joined a theater in 1976 in Belfast before finding work and really making a name for himself just a few years later. He rose to fame in 1993 with the film "Schindler's List," and the rest is history.

Since then, Neeson has shown off a wide range of skills as an actor, starring in dramas, thrillers, action films and everything in between. It seems like there's no role that Neeson can't tackle. On top of being an astounding actor, he is also a family man. Unfortunately, Neeson has had to face many challenges and hardships in grieving over the loss of several family members, including his late wife, Natasha Richardson.

Neeson and Richardson had a beautiful love story. They began dating in 1993 and were married in 1994. Together, they welcomed two sons, Micheál and Daniel. They lived as a happy family for 16 wonderful years, but in 2009, tragedy struck. While on a ski trip with one of her sons, Richardson fell and hit her head, which led to brain injury and ultimately her death. The death of Richardson caused major devastation to the whole family. Recently the couple’s son Micheál paid the ultimate tribute to his mom by changing his last name from Neeson to Richardson.

The family was in shock by the tragic passing of Richardson. She was a crucial part to the family dynamic. So when that figure was taken from their lives, the entire family had to deal with the loss. Micheál Richardson, the couple's eldest son, gave an interview with the Sunday Times Style in 2015, during which he talked about going through a "dark" period where he relied on alcohol and drugs to cope with the loss of his mother. He told the publication, as reported by The Belfast Telegraph: 

"Of course, when it happened it was devastating. But in my mind, subconsciously, I either pushed it out or stored it deep inside."

After he hit "rock bottom," where he couldn't leave the house or get up in the morning, he turned to "wilderness therapy" and was able to get his life back on track. He explained how losing the matriarch of the family was critical: 

“Not having a mother figure definitely set the balance of the family off.”

But Micheál also credited his father for being an inspiration. Neeson opened up to GQ about being there for his two sons after Natasha died, but he didn't gloss over the difficulties of being a single father. He said:

“My boys are teenagers. They’re experimenting. They’re flexing muscles and sometimes dangerous avenues, and you think, ‘F***. If Tasha was here, someone could share this.'"

Neeson had to become strong for his two sons, who were just 12 and 13 when their mother died. Neeson had told Cooper during his CBS interview how much of a caring figure Natasha was. He said: “She cared for everybody. She has a motherly instinct. And she’d make dinners for everyone and just looked after us all.”

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Micheál has gotten on a better path and has even followed in his famous parents' footsteps by entering the acting industry. He is also an extremely handsome man. Micheál made his acting debut in "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" in 2013. It's clear that he loves multiple types of arts and culture, as he also had a fashion gallery in London in 2015, according to The Belfast Telegraph.  Micheál also starred as Neeson's son in the 2019 film "Cold Pursuit." He also appeared in the 2018 film "Vox Lux" alongside Natalie Portman and the 2021 film "On Our Way." 

Micheal in an interview with the Today Show said his mother was his angel and he’s lucky to have the time with her that he did.

"She was this sweet, amazing mother figure — my best friend. She had these amazing, big welcomes when we'd come home or she would come home." He added, "I'm so lucky because I have her captured on film." 

Fortunately, Micheál was able to work his way up from "rock bottom" and turned to "wilderness therapy." Micheál, who was given the surname Neeson at birth, even honored his late mother by changing his surname to Richardson in 2018.

"I think as I get older, keeping my mom more in mind and doing things to honor her allows me to remember her and to go through the grief, and properly heal," he said.

How sweet is Micheál changing his last name back to his mom’s maiden name? If you love this sweet story on a Hollywood family—make sure to pass it on to your friends who will too!