Rachel Weisz has become the first actress to win an acting award named after the late Natasha Richardson at a prizegiving recognising the best in London theatre.

The Mummy star received the Natasha Richardson Best Actress trophy for her part in West End play A Streetcar Named Desire at a ceremony hosted by the London Evening Standard newspaper on Monday (23Nov09).

The coveted prize has been renamed to honour Liam Neeson’s wife, who died following a tragic skiing accident in Montreal, Canada in March (09). Richardson’s mother, veteran performer Vanessa Redgrave, was on hand to present the trophy to Weisz.

Accepting the award, Weisz said, “It is even more of an honour because this is the first year that the award has been named after the great and much, much-loved Natasha Richardson.”