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Reports out of the Laurentians in Eastern Canada are that Natasha Richardson, the Tony Award-winning British actress, is in "critical condition with head trauma" in a Montreal Hospital . She was severely injured in a seemingly benign accident on a beginners slope known as the flats at Mont Tremblant.

Richardson, 45, is married to actor Liam Neeson.  She was taking a private lesson and was not wearing a helmet. Her two sons were with her.  A Mont Tremblant spokesperson told the Montreal Gazette Richardson was walking around and apparently feeling fine for an hour after the accident.

The ski instructor was reportedly at her side in seconds and she did not hit anything before coming to a stop, nor was there any visible sign of injury -- no cuts or bleeding. Two ski patrollers assisted her, but she was not put on a stretcher. She walked to her room at the Quintessence Hotel and the patrollers reportedly stayed with her for an hour.

Richardson began to have headaches, and The Gazette reports she was transported to nearby Centre Hospitalier Laurentian. She was later transferred to the Intensive Care Unit at Sacré Coeur Hospital in Montreal. Hospital spokespeople would not confirm any more details to the media.

She is the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson. She has appeared in more than 30 movies, including The Parent Trap, Maid in Manhattan, Narnia Chronicle, and Nell. She won her Tony in 1998 for her role in a reprisal of Cabaret on Broadway. She was set to appear in a revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music with her legendary mother. Neeson reportedly immediately left the set of a film he was making in Toronto to be with her.

UPDATED March 19, 2009: Actress Natasha Richardson Dies After Head Injury While Skiing