Heath Ledger Profile
Full/Alt. Name: Heathcliff Andrew Ledger
Date of Birth: Wednesday April 4 1979
Born: Perth (Australia)
Biography:
Despite a short-lived start on series television, Academy Award-winning actor Heath Ledger moved into features as a heartthrob in teen films, quickly developing into one of Hollywoods most prominent and gifted talents, as well as a tabloid favorite for his very public relationships with actresses Naomi Watts and Michelle Williams. After a notable turn in his native Australias Blackrock (1997), Ledger went on to stardom by way of leading roles in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), "The Patriot" (2000) and A Knights Tale (2001). Though he languished a bit in little-seen features like The Four Feathers (2002) and Ned Kelly (2004), Ledger exploded into a bona fide star with his Oscar-nominated turn as a closeted homosexual ranch hand in Ang Lees acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain" (2005). Building off the enormity of his Brokeback success, Ledger landed the role of a lifetime, playing The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008) and setting the stage for becoming a huge international star. But unfortunately and quite shockingly tragedy struck in early 2008, when Ledger was found dead in his apartment of an accidental prescription drug overdose, ending one of the most promising careers of his generation.Heathcliff Andrew Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 and raised in Perth, Australia by mother Emma, a French teacher, and father Kim, a mining engineer and amateur racecar driver. Because his parents were Wuthering Heights fans, they named their son Heathcliff and daughter Catherine after the star-crossed lovers in Emily Brontes classic tearjerker. Indeed, young Ledger seemed to have a natural gift for drama himself, with an early interest in acting resulting in a stage debut with Perths Globe Shakespeare Company when he was only 10 years old. Ledgers budding thespian tendencies were no secret at Guildfords Boys Grammar School, where he was a member of the school hockey team, but also choreographed and led a school dance troupe to victory in a national competition. As hard-working academically as he was on the stage and hockey rink, Ledger hit the books and passed his high school graduation exams at age 16 in order to move to Sydney in search of an acting career
Heath Ledger
