Patrick Swayze Remembers Natasha Richardson

Patrick Swayze and the late Natasha RichardsonGetty ImagesAccess Hollywood

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Patrick Swayze paid tribute to Natasha Richardson on Monday following her tragic and sudden death on March 18.

"It is such a great loss to this community to lose an actress and person such as Natasha. Gifts like her don't come along very often," Swayze - who starred in "Waking Up in Reno" with the actress - said in a statement released to People.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: A Look Back: Stage & Screen Leading Lady Natasha Richardson

"It's a rare thing in this industry to have someone with so much talent, beauty, and dedication and yet is imbued with such humility. I know for me and many other people, the world will be a different place without her," Swayze's statement continued.

Richardson is survived by her husband, Liam Neeson , and their two sons, Micheal Richard Antonio, 13, Daniel Jack, 12, who were also in Swayze's thoughts.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood Legends

"My heart goes out to Liam and his two boys, but I'm sure that Natasha's light is shining down on them," he said.

As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, the actress died on after two days of hospitalization following a skiing accident in Quebec.

Friends, family and colleagues paid their last respects to Richardson at a funeral service in St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Millbrook, New York, on Sunday afternoon.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Patrick Swayze

Richardson, a Tony Award winner for her Broadway work in "Cabaret" and a star of such films as "The Parent Trap" and "Nell," was 45.

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MORE ACCESS ON THESE TOPICS: Natasha Richardson - Broadway - Patrick Swayze - Liam Neeson - Deaths