Heath Ledger

Heath Andrew Ledger appeared in nearly twenty films during his tragically short life. He was a talented actor and was the recipient of many awards including an Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe, and a New York Film Critics' Circle Award. He starred in such memorable films as "10 Things I Hate About You," "Monster's Ball," "The Patriot," and "Brokeback Mountain," which is widely considered to be his best performance.

He was born in Perth, Western Australia on April 4, 1979. His mother was a French teacher and his father was a racecar driver. He had a sister named Kate and two half-sisters, Olivia and Ashley. His parents divorced when he was eleven. As a child of ten years old, Ledger performed in a school production of "Peter Pan" which was his first acting role.

When he was seventeen, Ledger and a friend packed up and moved to Sydney where he thought he could get his big break in the acting business. He had only sixty-nine cents when he arrived in Sydney. It was in Sydney that Ledger starred in his first film, "Blackrock" in 1997. The film was a forgettable, unimpressive teen flick. He landed several other forgettable roles in Australia before coming to America.

Ledger was linked romantically to actresses Heather Graham, Naomi Watts, and Michelle Williams. He and Williams had a daughter, Matilda, together. When the media in Australia became too intrusive, Ledger moved to New York.

He starred as the Joker in the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight," and the film was in post-production when he died. He has been given rave reviews for his performance of the horrible villain, and the movie is a huge box office success.

Ledger's roles in "The Dark Knight" and "I'm Not There" left him exhausted and unable to sleep. He was taking sleeping pills to help the problem. He also had not been feeling well because of a respiratory infection.

On January 22, 2008, he was found unconscious in his loft apartment in the SoHo area of Manhattan. Emergency crews arrived quickly but were unable to revive him. The Medical Examiner's report stated that his death was an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, and that it was caused by the combined effects of Oxycodone, Hydrocodone, Diazepam, Temazepam, Alpralzolam, and Doxylamine.

Heath Ledger's death was an unnecessary tragedy, but fortunately, he left many superb films that people will enjoy for years to come.