5 of 11

Write now Article Tools

Heath Ledger was born April 4, 1979, as Heathcliff Andrew Ledger in Perth Australia. He was born to Sally Ledger Bell, a French teacher and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer. He attended Mary's Mount Primary School and then later attended Guilford Grammar School, where he had his first acting experience. At the age of 10 he starred in his school production of Peter Pan. Kate, Ledger's older sister was an actress and became a publicist later. Ledger and Kate were very close, and Ledger's acting on stage was inspired by her. His love of Gene Kelly inspired his successful choreography which led him to Guilford Grammar's 60 member team's "first all-boy victory" at the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge.

Ledger however, wasn't a one-track kind of guy. He was captain of the drama team in high school, he coordinated a group of guys to compete in a dance competition, and he also won several awards for hockey.

When he was only 16 he sat for his early graduation exams, and then left school in order to pursue an acting career with his girlfriend Jenna Sorrell. He drove across the country to Sydney with his best friend Trevor DiCarlo, and then later returned back to Perth for the TV series Sweat in 1996, where he played a gay cyclist. He got his first big break shortly after this in 1997 for an Australian teen flick called Blackrock. This led him up to his firs U.S. gig as a Celtic Prince in the Fox drama Roar.

Years later he earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film Brokeback Mountain. Among the other recognition Ledger received for his performance in Brokeback Mountain he also won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor of 2005 and a San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor of 2005.

Heath dated actress Noami Watts for two years until he hooked up with a fellow co-star from Brokeback Mountain, Michelle Williams. Ledger and Williams had a daughter together in 2005 named Matilda Rose, and in 2007 the couple separated blaming both of their schedules for a strain on the relationship. Soon after this breakup Ledger rebounded after the news he was to appear as the legendary comic book villain, The Joker, in "The Dark Knight" (2008).

However, before this movie was released, Ledger was found dead on January 22, 2008 at the age of 28 in his apartment building in New York. He was said to have died from the abuse of prescription medications.

Learn more about this author, Kayla B Maxwell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Biography: Heath Ledger?
We want to hear your view. Write now!