Gone Too Soon

Heath Ledger
Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Western Australia on April 4, 1979. He is the son of Sally and Kim Ledger, and has one sister, Kate. Heath and his sister Kate were named after Heathcliff and Catherine from Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.

A Famous Career
Heath was in a few t.v. series before trading his talent for the big time. His first big time movie was 10 Things I Hate about You, costaring with Julia Stiles. In 2000, Ledger played Gabriel Martin in The Patriot were he costared with Mel Gibson. After that his career soared. He then went on to film other movies like A Knight's Tale, The Four Feathers, Lords of Dogtown, The Brother's Grimm (costaring with Matt Damon), Brokeback Mountain (costarring with Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Williams, and Anne Hathaway), Casanova, Candy, I'm Not There, and The Dark Knight were he plays the Joker. Ledger was also in the process of filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Awards
He went on to win "Best Actor of 2005" from the New York Film Critics Circle and the San Francisco Film Critics Circle for his performance in Brokeback Mountain. He also got a nomination for a Golden Globe as "Best Actor in a Drama", and a nomination for an Academy Award for "Best Actor ". Ledger was 26 when he became one of the youngest performers ever nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.

Personal Life
Ledger met his former girlfriend, Michelle Williams, during the production of Brokeback Mountain and had their first child, Matilda Rose, on October 28, 2005 in New York City. Matilda's godparents are Jake Gyllenhaal and Busy Philipps. In August of 2007, Ledger and Michelle Williams ended their relationship due to busy schedules. On Janurary 22, 2008, Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment in his SoHo neighborhood in New York City. The cause of his death was inconclusive for a time, but recent reports say Ledger died of acute intoxication by the combined effects of oxycodone, hydrocodone, diasepam, temazepam, alprazolam, and doxylamine. Reports say that he was taking these different medications for anxiety, insomnia, depression, pain, and cold symptoms, and it was an accident. We and the film industry will miss a great actor. Our sympathy goes out to his family, friends, and fans.

tag: Heath Ledger, Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, 10 Things I Hate About You, Julia Stiles, The Patriot, Mel Gibson, A Knight's Tale, The Four Feathers, Lords of Dogtown, The Brother's Grimm, Matt Damon, Brokeback Mountain, Jake Gyllenhall, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway, Casanova, Candy, I'm Not There, The Dark Knight, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Golden Globe, Busy Philipps