Liam Neeson Age, Wife, Net Worth & Biography

Liam Neeson is 74 years old. Born William John Neeson on June 7, 1952, in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the Irish actor has built a film career spanning nearly 50 years, from an Oscar-nominated turn as Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars and the action hero Bryan Mills in the Taken films. He was married to actress Natasha Richardson from 1994 until her death in 2009, and he has two sons, Micheál and Daniel.

Liam Neeson Quick Facts

Full Name	William John Neeson
Date of Birth	June 7, 1952
Age	74
Birthplace	Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Wife	Natasha Richardson (m. 1994–2009)
Children	2
Occupation	Actor
Net Worth	Approx. $145 million (Celebrity Net Worth, 2026)
Known For	Schindler’s List; Taken; Star Wars: The Phantom Menace; Love Actually

Who Is Liam Neeson?

Liam Neeson is an actor from Northern Ireland who is regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest film actors. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he has earned nominations for an Academy Award, a BAFTA, three Golden Globes and two Tony Awards, and the films he has appeared in have grossed more than US$11.7 billion worldwide. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.

Neeson first became known to a global audience as Oskar Schindler in Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993), then reached a new generation as Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) and as Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia films. From 2008, the Taken series remade him as one of Hollywood’s most unlikely late-career action stars, and in 2025 he took a comic turn as Frank Drebin Jr. in The Naked Gun.

Liam Neeson’s Early Life & Background

William John Neeson was born on June 7, 1952, in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, the son of primary school caretaker Bernard “Barney” Neeson and cook Katherine “Kitty” Neeson. He has three sisters, Elizabeth, Bernadette and Rosaleen, and was brought up Catholic. He attended St Patrick’s College in Ballymena from 1963 to 1967, where his love of drama began, and he was named Liam after a local priest.

At the age of nine, Neeson began boxing lessons at the All Saints Youth Club and went on to win a number of regional titles. In 1971 he joined a physics and computer science course at Queen’s University Belfast before leaving to work for the Guinness Brewery. At Queen’s he discovered a talent for football and was spotted by Bohemian FC, playing one game as a substitute against Shamrock Rovers before he was not offered a contract. After two years at teacher training college in Newcastle upon Tyne, he joined the Lyric Players’ Theatre in Belfast in 1976, where he performed for two years.

Liam Neeson’s Career

Neeson made his film debut in 1978, playing Jesus Christ and the Evangelist in the religious film Pilgrim’s Progress. In 1980, filmmaker John Boorman saw him on stage as Lennie Small in Of Mice and Men and offered him the role of Sir Gawain in the Arthurian film Excalibur (1981). Early screen roles followed in The Bounty (1984), The Mission (1986), The Dead Pool (1988) and Husbands and Wives (1992). His Broadway debut as Mat Burke in a revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Anna Christie (1993) earned him a Tony Award nomination — and it was there that he met his future wife, Natasha Richardson.

Steven Spielberg offered Neeson the role of Oskar Schindler in Schindler’s List (1993) after seeing him in Anna Christie, and his performance earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He then took leading roles in Nell (1994), Rob Roy (1995), Michael Collins (1996) — for which he won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival — and Les Misérables (1998). In 1999 he starred as Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, and in the 2000s he played a widowed writer in Love Actually (2003), Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey (2004), Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005) and the voice of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy (2005–2010).

In 2008, Neeson cemented himself as an action star with Taken, playing retired CIA operative Bryan Mills, a role he reprised in two sequels. The success led to a run of action thrillers including The A-Team (2010), The Grey (2011), Unknown (2011), Non-Stop (2014), Run All Night (2015), The Commuter (2018) and Cold Pursuit (2019). He also starred in the dramas Silence (2016) and A Monster Calls (2016), the crime thriller Widows (2018) and the romantic drama Ordinary Love (2019). In 2025 he starred as Frank Drebin Jr. in The Naked Gun, and in 2026 he produced the drama feature The Lost Children of Tuam.

Facts About Liam Neeson

• He was a talented boxer as a boy, winning regional titles at the All Saints Youth Club in Ballymena.
• He was spotted playing football at Queen’s University and played one game as a substitute for Bohemian FC against Shamrock Rovers.
• He voiced James, the Lone Wanderer’s father, in the video game Fallout 3 (2008).
• He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2000.
• He turned down the role of Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln (2012), feeling he had grown too old for the part; Daniel Day-Lewis won the Oscar for it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How old is Liam Neeson?

Liam Neeson is 74 years old. He was born on June 7, 1952.

Is Liam Neeson married?

No. Liam Neeson’s wife, actress Natasha Richardson, died in a skiing accident in March 2009. He has two sons, Micheál and Daniel.

What is Liam Neeson’s net worth?

Liam Neeson’s net worth is approx. $145 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth (2026).

What is Liam Neeson best known for?

Liam Neeson is best known for Schindler’s List, the Taken films, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace, and Love Actually.

What is Liam Neeson’s latest film?

Liam Neeson’s latest film is The Naked Gun (2025), in which he plays Frank Drebin Jr.

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