Australian actor Heath Ledger tragically died in New York in 2008, at the age of 28, from an accidental overdose.
At the time of his death, which sent shockwaves all over the world, Ledger had just finished filming his critically-acclaimed portrayal of the Joker in the 2008 film The Dark Knight.
He would later earn a Best Supporting Actor Oscar posthumously for the role.
In his short lifetime, Ledger forged a successful Hollywood career, winning the hearts of millions fans all over the world thanks to films including 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale.
READ MORE: Director recalls ‘really sad’ moment he heard Ledger had died
The late Perth-born star also captured the hearts of some high-profile love interests during his time, dating Aussie model Gemma Ward shortly before his death and having daughter Matilda with ex Michelle Williams.
In an interview before his death, Ledger sweetly said Williams and his daughter were ”the greatest gift” he had ever received in life.
9Honey Celebrity takes a look back at the great loves of Heath Ledger’s life in the week in honour of what would have been his 45th birthday on April 4.
Heather Graham
Ledger dated American actress Heather Graham from October 2000 to June 2001.
Although their romance was short-lived, it seemingly meant a lot to Graham, who shared a sweet tribute to her former lover in 2021.
READ MORE: What happened to Heather Graham?
Underneath some throwback photographs of the pair together, she said that Ledger was “such a special person”.
“Going through my photos I found these. Just remembering this time. Heath Ledger was such a special person,” she wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CK0JsYbHnzi/?igsh=MTRpb2Rxa3FuMmRwcA%3D%3D&img_index=2
They met in Prague when Ledger was filming A Knight’s Tale and Graham was starring in From Hell.
The couple reportedly remained “good friends” after going their separate ways, a rep for Graham told IMdb at the time.
Naomi Watts
Aussie actors Naomi Watts and Ledger dated between 2002 and 2004. They had met on the set of film Ned Kelly.
In 2018, Watts shared a tribute to her late ex on what would have been his 39th birthday.
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“Happy birthday to this darling heart. We will never forget you… #heathledger #rip,” The Ring star captioned her post.
“It’s still incredibly difficult,” she previously told Parade about their romance and his shock death.
She added about having worked with him on Ned Kelly: “Then, when I got to the set and did that first scene with him, I was like, ‘Wow! This guy is alive.”’
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“It was just something deep in his eyes. You could look into them, and they would tell a thousand stories in one glance,” she said.
“There was a wonderful mixture of power and fragility at work in everything he did, which just pulls you in.
“His strength didn’t scare you. It intrigued you. And his fragility touched you.”
Michelle Williams
The Dark Knight actor’s struggle with depression and inability to cope with the pressures of fame cast a shadow over his successful career. But after he welcomed his baby girl, Ledger had a new light in his life.
It was his casting in the 2005 Oscar-winning film Brokeback Mountain as Ennis Del Mar that saw Ledger meet and fall in love with his co-star, Williams.
The couple met on-set in 2004 and immediately began a whirlwind romance.
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“Our initial meeting, the circumstances of how we first met, were cosmic or something,” Williams would later recall in a GQ interview.
“It will be forever special because of meeting Heath and having Matilda,” she told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2008.
“It is probably not often in your lifetime that you are part of a film that means so much to so many people.”
In October 2005, Matilda Ledger was born.
“I’m so proud. I just fall deeper and deeper in love with both my girls,” People reports him as saying soon after her birth.
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Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald in 2006, Ledger also acknowledged how much his role in Brokeback Mountain changed the trajectory of his personal life.
“It’s a trip. It’s incredible to what level the film has changed my life,” he said.
“I mean, it’s given me an incredible amount of synchronicity. I have these two girls that I fall deeper and deeper in love with daily and that is, hands down, the greatest gift that I’ve been given from this. I’ll forever be grateful.”
Though it wasn’t to last, as in 2007 the couple split after three years together.
READ MORE: Why Michelle Williams’ and Heath Ledger’s romance ended
Gemma Ward
Ledger’s last love was Aussie supermodel Gemma Ward.
The pair started dating in late 2007 and spent Christmas together in their hometown of Perth with their families.
“[Heath and I] first met in New York and we were both struggling with things that I won’t get into, and we bonded over that,” she previously told The Sunday Herald Sun.
“I kind of met him at first and said, ‘Listen, my mum’s living with me right now and I’m kind of going through a hard time and I’m not interested in having a serious relationship with somebody right now’ and he was like, ‘You know, um, let’s just be there for each other through these hard times we’re both going through’.
“And we developed a relationship and we started seeing each other. There was no one like him – and no one will ever be like him.”
She also previously told WHO in 2015: ”I try to reflect and send him some prayers.”
Ward retreated from the spotlight shortly after his death, but recently returned to her career and the public eye.
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