GLOWING tributes poured in today for actress Natasha Richardson, who died last night after suffering a head injury in a skiing accident.

Theatre critics hailed the 45-year-old star as a "wonderful performer" who handled the pressure of being in one of Britain's great theatrical dynasties and made her own career on stage and in film. A family of acting stars NATASHA was a member of one of the UK's most famous acting clans.

The Redgrave/Richardson dynasty began in 1935 with the marriage of Sir Michael Redgrave, a renowned director, author and manager, to actress Rachel Kempson.

Their three children, Vanessa, Corin and Lynn Redgrave, all went on to enjoy celebrated acting careers.

Corin had two children, Jemma and Luke, with his first wife Deidre Hamilton Hall. Jemma has also found acting fame.

Vanessa married director Tony Richardson in the 1960s and she was the mother of Natasha and her sister Joely, who is best known for her role in the American television series Nip/Tuck.

Her husband, Irish actor Liam Neeson, and family were "shocked and devastated" by her death, which came after she fell while taking a supervised skiing lesson on a beginners' run at the luxury Mont Tremblant resort in Quebec, Canada, on Monday.

Alan Nierob, Neeson's publicist, said: "Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha.

"They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."

Neeson, 56, Richardson's mother, Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave, 72, and two sons, Michael, 13, and Daniel, 12, visited her after she was flown from Canada to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, where she died last night.

Her sister, Nip/Tuck star Joely Richardson, also visited the hospital.

Theatre critic Tim Walker said: "The world of acting has been deprived of a great actress, really in her prime. As a stage actress she was coming into her own, she was becoming a major star and taken extremely seriously on the stage."

He said Richardson took the decision early in her career to "stand or fall on her own" and left London, where she would have had useful contacts through her family, to begin her career in Leeds at the West Yorkshire Playhouse.

Mr Walker added that she was about to appear on Broadway in A Little Night Music with her mother. "She was at ease with herself and felt she was big enough to appear on stage with her mother," he said.

Award-winner Richardson, whose director father Tony died of Aids-related causes in 1991, was also on the board of the US-based charity amfAR, The Foundation for Aids Research.

A charity spokeswoman said: "Our hearts go out to her family. This is a catastrophic loss for them, and it is a terrible loss for amfAR and the fight against Aids."

She said Richardson was a "dedicated Aids advocate" and had been an "eloquent spokesperson for amfAR" for more than 15 years.

The Maid In Manhattan and The Parent Trap actress showed no visible sign of injury after the accident but, about an hour later, she started feeling unwell and was taken to hospital.

Neeson flew from the set of his new film in Toronto to be with his wife before she was flown to New York, where she and her family live, for further treatment. Her death was announced shortly before midnight GMT.

BBC film critic Quentin Cooper said: "She had consistently proved herself to be comfortable and not feel she just had to do the big roles.

"She had the ability to stride on to a stage and really fall into a part."

Theatre critic Michael Coveney said Richardson had a "beautiful, illustrious voice" and was "a wonderful performer".

Dr Neil Martin, chairman of neurological surgery at the UCLA Medical Centre in California, said: "It's profoundly unusual for a minor head injury, as was described, to result in a life-threatening medical crisis.

"But it is still possible to get a severe injury, even from what looks like a mild fall."