Yesterday, there were a flurry of reports claiming that actress Natasha Richardson had died as a result of head trauma sustained on a Montreal ski slope. Those reports were untrue – but the news is not good. People magazine, a much more credible source than Time Out New York or TMZ, is reporting this morning that Natasha’s injuries are beyond recovery, and she was moved from a Montreal hospital to New York in order for her family to say good bye. Her husband, children and family are with her now, holding a bedside vigil. TMZ published photos of a very distraught-looking Vanessa Redgrave, Natasha’s mother, entering the hospital.

As Natasha Richardson remained in a New York hospital, her family and friends had all but given up hope that she’ll recover from a severe head injury.

“There is no chance,” a family friend told PEOPLE on Tuesday night. “It is a fact that her heart is beating but she is brain dead.”

Her dire condition – doctors described it to those close to Richards as “leakage of blood between the brain and skull,” the friend says – has the actress’s family coming to grips with potentially having to make an unthinkably difficult decision. “It’s not official yet,” says the friend, “but they basically will detach her.”

Richardson, 45, the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave, suffered a devastating head injury Monday while skiing on a beginner’s slope outside Montreal during a trip with at least one of her two sons. Her husband, Liam Neeson, 56, raced from a Toronto movie set to be with her as she was hospitalized.

On Tuesday evening, a private jet brought them both to New York, where family and friends gathered for a vigil. Reps for the family have declined to comment on Richardson’s medical condition.

[From People]

Natasha Richardson leaves behind a wonderful body of work for fans to cherish. Part of what has been called the “Redgrave Dynasty” of actors, her mother is screen and stage legend Vanessa Redgrave, her late father was famed London stage actor Tony Richardson. Her aunt is Lynn Redgrave, and her sister, Joely Richardson is also an actress. Natasha made her film debut as Mary Shelley in the movie “Gothic” in 1986. Other films include the title role in “Patty Hearst,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “The Parent Trap” remake and of course “Nell,” the film in which she met her husband, actor Liam Neeson. The couple wed in 1994 and have two children, Michael and Daniel. Richardson shifted her career in recent years from film and television to the stage, which she has said was her first love. She played Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of “Cabaret,” for which she won a Tony Award in 1998. She also starred in the stage version of “Closer,” which was made into a movie starring Julia Roberts.

Our condolences go out to her family and friends, who must be absolutely devastated by this news.

Natasha Richardson is pictured with her husband, actor Liam Neeson, at a film opening last October; with her mom, Vanessa Redgrave, with her two sons, Michael and Daniel, at a Broadway opening last November, and in her last theatrical appearance, “A Little Night Music,” in January of this year. A beautiful, bright star has been dimmed. Photo credits: WENN.