Heath Ledger

When first beginning his acting career, Heath Ledger did not find immediate success.

Heath Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 in Perth, Western Australia to Kim Ledger, an engineer and Sally Ledger, a French teacher. At the time, the Ledger children consisted of Heath and older sister Kate. Interestingly, the two children were named after the two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine in the heartbreaking Emily Bronte novel Wuthering Heights.

Ledger's parents divorced when he was 11. Sally went on to remarry and have a daughter, Ashleigh, with second husband Roger Bell. Kim also remarried and also had a daughter, Olivia, with second wife Emma. Heath Ledger spent the rest of his childhood traveling between both his parents' homes. About the constant travel between him mom and dad's houses, Ledger said "It set me up for this Bohemian life I've been leading."

Heath Ledger did not "rocket" to stardom as some young, handsome Hollywood actors do. No, his climb to the top was slow and steady, partly by choice on Ledger's part and partly because nobody in Hollywood really knew who he was when he arrived.

Ledger's search for fame truly began when he was 17 (some reports say 16), when he left Perth for Sydney with childhood friend Trevor DiCarlo. Sydney offered the young Ledger small roles in the following television and low budget films:

• Clowning Around – 1992
• Ship to Shore - 1993
• Sweat – 1996
• Roar - 1997
• Blackrock – 1997
• Paws – 1997
• Home and Away – 1997
• Two Hands – 1999

It was after Ledger's performance in the lead role of Jimmy in Australian director Gregor Jordan's film Two Hands when people in the film industry began recognizing his talent.

The teen film 10 Things I Hate About You, in which Ledger played the role of bad-boy Patrick Verona, opposite Julia Stiles in a modern take on Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, is considered to be Ledger's first big movie "break" in Hollywood. Although he fit the mold of "Hollywood Heartthrob" with his smoldering good looks and charm, this would be the only film role in the teen movie genre that Heath Ledger would ever take.

Realizing his rising status as the latest Hollywood "It" boy, Ledger became decidedly uncomfortable and did not want to be type-cast into teen movie types of roles. Speaking about his film role in 10 Things I Hate About You, he said "You've got to start somewhere. I just didn't want to stay there." Ledger would turn down every teen movie role offered to him for the next year.

In 2000, Heath Ledger returned to his leading role of Conor in the television series Roar. Shortly after he finished filming Roar Ledger auditioned for the part of Gabriel Martin in the American Revolution film, Patriot Games. In an interview Ledger said he did so poorly during the auditioning process that he walked out in the middle of the audition. Apparently casting directors saw something special in the young actor and called him a few days later to re-audition. At the second audition, he read with Mel Gibson and was offered the role.

After the success of Patriot Games, Heath Ledger starred in many different films, taking on decidedly different characters along the way.

• A Knight's Tale – 2001
• Monster's Ball – 2001
• The Four Feathers - 2002
• Ned Kelly – 2003
• The Order – 2003
• Lords of Doggtown – 2003
• The Brothers Grimm – 2005
• Brokeback Mountain – 2005
• Casanova – 2005
• Cady - 2006
• I'm Not There – 2007
• The Dark Knight – Set to be released in 2008. This would be Ledger's final performance before his death in January 2008.

Over the years, Ledger dated actresses Heather Graham and Naomi Watts, but it wasn't until meeting Michelle Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain when Ledger seemed to find the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The two dated for a short period of time in 2005 before becoming engaged. In October of that year, the couple welcomed their daughter Matilda into their lives. The couple split in 2007. A short time later, Heath Ledger would die in his New York apartment.

On January 22, 2008, Heath Ledger died of an accidental overdose of multiple prescription drugs in his rented New York apartment. He was 28 years old.

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