Liam Neeson is a Hollywood legend, making a name for himself starring in massive blockbusters such as Taken and Schindler's List, but his life hasn't always been the picture of glamour.
Growing up in the small town of Ballymena, Northern Ireland, the star was born in 1952 to his parents, Katherine, a cook, and Bernard Neeson, a school caretaker. Boasting a CV of varied career attempts, before making it big, the actor worked as a Guinness forklift operator, a truck driver, an assistant architect and an amateur boxer in his early years.
Describing his childhood as "normal", the A Naked Gun star reflected on growing up and said he was brought up in an "Irish Catholic working-class" household.
He lived in a traditional house in the Irish town with his three sisters, Elizabeth, Bernadette, and Rosaleen. Liam attended St Patrick's College from 1963 to 1967, and credited his school days for fostering his love of drama.
Speaking to UNICEF as part of World Children’s Day, he recalled his favourite memories as working on his "uncle's little farm in the summertime, making hay and milking cows".
Liam's big break
The actor first found fame while performing on stage in theatre productions in Dublin and Belfast, during which time filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men in 1980.
After watching his performance, he offered him the role of Sir Gawain in the film Excalibur with Helen Mirren. Once filming on that project wrapped, he moved to London and lived with The Thursday Murder Club star with whom he was in a relationship from 1980 to 1985.
He went on to star in a variety of heavy-hitting movies and acted alongside the likes of Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, and Robert De Niro.
Moving to Hollywood, the star signed up to work with Cher and Dennis Quaid on Suspect, which earned him critical acclaim and cemented him as a successful actor in Los Angeles.
© Getty ImagesFamily life
Despite enjoying wild success on screen, tragedy struck Liam when his wife and fellow actress, Natasha Richardson, died in a skiing accident in 2009.
She was 45 when she passed away during their trip to Quebec, Canada, and the cause of her untimely death was listed as a brain bleed after she fell on a beginner's slope.
© Getty ImagesThe couple had tied the knot in 1994 and were parents to two sons, Micheál and Daniel, when Natasha died. Liam's children are 30 and 29, and both work in the entertainment industry as an actor, who starred in Cold Pursuit and Made in Italy, and a fashion designer, who runs the eco-friendly clothing brand Pine Outfitter, respectively.
