A heart-warming story for this holiday season: Cher and the late actress Natasha Richardson are among esteemed honorees that will have libraries named after them in gratitude for their charitable work.  Queen Noor Al-Hussein of Jordan, Jane Goodall, and Desmond Tutu are among others involved with an organization called The World is Just a Book Away, which strives to increase access to books in developing countries.

The organization partnered with the Intercontinental Resort to achieve its goals.

Source: Examiner

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.”

Vanessa Redgrave is to present the best actress award in memory of her daughter, Natasha Richardson, at this year’s London Evening Standard Theatre Awards.

Redgrave, whose father Michael twice won the best actor category, will announce whether Penny Downie, Juliet Stevenson, Rachel Weisz or American actress Deanna Dunagan has taken the coveted prize.

The Natasha Richardson award for best actress was renamed after the star’s death aged 45 following a skiing accident in March.

Friends of late actress Natasha Richardson have apparently decided to name an English rose in her honour. The 45-year-old actress, who was married to Liam Neeson, died earlier this year after a skiing accident in Canada.

A friend of Richardson and Neeson is quoted by MSN as saying: “We all want something to remember Natasha and there’s no-one who better resembles a perfect English rose than her.”

They added: “The whole family loves the idea of having a rose named after her.”

It has been announced that the Best Actress Award is being renamed in honor of Natasha Richardson, the actress daughter of Vanessa Redgrave who died following a skiing accident in March. In a press statement, the paper’s executive director Evgeny Lebedev has commented, “This year we lost one of the great stage talents of our age in a tragic accident. Natasha Richardson was not only an exceptional actress but a loving mother, sister, daughter and wonderful friend. She was loved by all whose lives she touched with her radiance, kindness and unforgettable glow of talent. We hope the London Evening Standard Natasha Richardson award for best actress will honor her achievements and her memory.”

The Best Actress category has been renamed this year in honour of actress Natasha Richardson, who died in March following a skiing accident. Announcing the longlists, Evening Standard executive director Evgeny Lebedev paid tribute to Richardson, calling her “one of the great stage talents of our age”, adding that the renaming of the award will “honour her achievements and her memory”.