Heath Ledger Biography-April 4 1979-January 22 2008The sad death of Academy Award nominated Australian Heathcliff Andrew Ledger, who was better known as Heath, was announed to the world on January 22nd 2008 after the 28 year old star of Brokeback Mountain was found by a visitor in his Greenwich Village apartment. Heath first came to the public’s attention in 1999 as a pretty boy heartthrob.
He was born on April 4, 1979, in Perth, Australia, and grew up in Western Australia where he went to Mary’s Mount Primary School in Gooseberry Hill. He later attended Guildford Grammar School and sat for early graduation exams when he was sixteen, then left school to pursue an acting career.
Ledger drove to Sydney with his best friend, Trevor DiCarlo, in hopes of making it big as an actor. Finding acting jobs turned out to be more difficult than he anticipated. He didn’t get his first real acting job until 1997, when he landed the very small role of Toby Ackland in the low budget teenage drama, Blackrock.
Following this unimpressive cliché movie, Ledger auditioned for a part in the television drama series, Sweat, about a group of young Olympic hopefuls. He landed the role of Snowy Bowles, a gay elite cyclist. In the summer of 1997 he landed the starring role of Conor in the FOX television series Roar, where his character and his followers try to unite the tribes of in the forth century against the Roman Empire. His next role was as surfer Scott Irwin in the television show Home and Away. He also briefly appeared in the film Paws in 1997, as a student involved in the stage production of a Shakespeare play.
In 1999 Ledger starred in the Hollywood teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You, as a teen hunk, following his lead role in the acclaimed Australian movie Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan. Also starring in 10 Things I Hate About You were Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Larisa Oleynik, and Andrew Keegan. He followed those two roles with more substantial performances as the son of Mel Gibson’s character in the serious war drama The Patriot in 2000, and as the son of Billy Bob Thornton in Monster’s Ball in 2001.
Ledger also acted in A Knight’s Tale: Ned Kelly, with Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Naomi Watts; The Order; The Brothers Grimm, co-starring Matt Damon; and Brokeback Mountain, with Jake Gyllenhaal, Randy Quaid, and Michelle Williams.
In 2001 Ledger was named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People. In 2003 he was named one of Australian GQ’s Men of the Year for Acting. For his starring role in the controversial film Brokeback Mountain he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Lead Actor, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama, a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Lead Actor, and a SAG nomination for Best Lead Actor, Best Ensemble Cast.
On July 31, 2006, Ledger was confirmed to play The Joker in the superhero film The Dark Knight, the sequel to the 2005 film Batman Begins. He was to be the first non-American actor to play The Joker. The film was released following Heath's death, in 2008.
At the time of his death, Ledger was engaged to actress Michelle Williams, whom he met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. Together they had a daughter, Matilda Rose, who was born on October 28, 2005.
After selling his Australian home in Bronte, New South Wales, for $7 million, Ledger moved to the USA and made his home in Brooklyn, New York and after splitting with Michelle in 2007, Heath moved to Greenwich Village where he lived on the fourth floor of an apartment block. On January 22nd 2008 Heath was found dead in his Manhattan home by a vistor after he failed to open his door. The star was found lying on his bed and gave no response to being shaken and spoken to. The New York Police stated that no foul play was suspected. Heath had just completed the filming of the new Batman movie prior to his death but that was no deterent to his opoularity living on. In both the 2007 and 2008 Oscars Heath was posthumously awarded the great honour of recieving Oscar nominations. Let us know of any corrections to the Heath Ledger biography at editor@yuddy.com |
