Natasha Richardson is a person.
Natasha Jane Richardson ( 11 May 1963 -- 18 March 2009 ) was an English stage and screen actress . Early in her career , she portrayed Mary Shelley in Ken Russell 's Gothic ( 1986 ) , and Patty Hearst in the eponymous 1988 film directed by Paul Schrader , and later received critical acclaim and a Theatre World Award for her Broadway debut in the 1993 revival of Anna Christie . She won the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical , the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical , and the Outer Critics Circle Award for her performance as Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of Cabaret .