Australian actor Heath Ledger was all set to be one of the finest up-and-coming stars in Hollywood before his untimely demise in 2008. He left behind a legacy of incredible acting performances that still hold up today and he remains one of the most fascinating actors in the industry.
Now, he has another legacy that’s started to make the rounds in the media – his daughter, Matilda Rose Ledger, who has grown up to become the spitting image of her late father. In this article, we revisit the late actor’s life and achievements, and get the scoop on Matilda and what she’s up to now.
RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Heath Ledger’s sister shares heartfelt tribute 10 years after his tragic death
Who Is Heath Ledger?
Heath Ledger was an Australian actor whose career first started in the early 90s with small roles in Australian television. In 1999, he got his big break in the American rom-com 10 Things I Hate About You, a role that earned him several awards and brought him into the public eye.
He later proved his action movie chops in 2001’s A Knight’s Tale, which never achieved much popularity or critical acclaim during its theatrical run, but was a moderate success at the box office and even developed a cult following in later years.
Heath received critical praise for his performance in 2005’s controversial Brokeback Mountain, earning him Academy Award and BAFTA nominations. The role went beyond the sort of roles he usually took, highlighting his powerful acting range.
Then, in 2008, Heath got widespread acclaim for his performance as the Joker in The Dark Knight, a performance for which he posthumously won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role.
When Did Heath Ledger Die?
On January 22, 2018, at 2:45 PM, Heath Ledger was found unconscious by his housekeeper and masseuse in his SoHo home. The two called 9-1-1, and the masseuse performed CPR on him with instructions from the 9-1-1 operator, but failed to revive him. EMTs arrived at the scene a few minutes later but couldn’t revive him either. Heath was pronounced dead at 3:36 PM.
A few months before his death, Ledger told The New York Times that he’d had trouble sleeping during the shooting of The Dark Knight. After his death, his Doctor Parnassus co-star Christopher Plummer said, “He was saying all the time, ‘dammit, I can’t sleep’ and he was taking all these pills.”
The toxicology report from Heath’s autopsy revealed that he had several prescription opioid and benzodiazepine medications in his system, which led to an accidental lethal overdose.
Who Is Heath Ledger’s Daughter?
Between 2004 and 2007, Heath dated actress Michelle Williams, whom he’d met on the set of Brokeback Mountain. In 2005, they had a daughter together, Matilda Rose Ledger. Matilda’s godparents were Jake Gyllenhaal and Busy Philipps.
Michelle never became Heath Ledger’s wife; they broke up in September 2007 when Matilda was two years old, purportedly due to Heath’s drug abuse. After their breakup, Michelle decided to keep Matilda’s life private, and in the years since, the young girl has rarely appeared in the news.
How Old Is Matilda?
Matilda’s birthday is October 28, 2005; she was born one year into Heath and Michelle’s relationship. Today, she’s thirteen years old.
Heath And Matilda: A Celebrity Doppelganger
One thing about Matilda that’s gotten a lot of attention is how much she looks like Heath. Even from a young age, people could already see the resemblance, but now that she’s broken into adolescence, the similarities are even more striking.
For one, Matilda definitely has the shape of her father’s face, complete with his chiselled jawline. She also has the same long, flowing blonde hair that maintained in nearly all of his roles.
What Was Heath And Matilda’s Relationship?
Though he only spent a couple of years in her life, Heath thought very highly of his daughter and being a father to her. He once said, “Matilda is adorable, and beautifully observant and wise. Michelle and I love her so much. Becoming a father exceeds all my expectations. It’s the most remarkable experience I’ve ever had – it’s marvellous.”
Gary Grenell, Heath’s dialect coach on The Dark Knight, had this to say, “He missed his girl, he missed his family, his missed his little girl – he desperately wanted to see her and hold her and play with her.” Heath had plenty of pictures with his daughter in public, showing how much he tried to be with her.
There’s no doubt that Heath strove to be a big part of Maddie’s life even after he and her mother separated.
Matilda Today
As Matilda grows up from a little kid to a budding teenager, Michelle Williams is ready for her daughter to start her rocky adolescent phase. In an April 2019 appearance on Live With Kelly and Ryan, Michelle said, “Every morning we wake up and I look to see if the transformation has happened and if it’s turned into the next level that I keep hearing about, but so far, we’re not there yet.”
Though Heath is gone, his daughter is sure to continue his legacy. And while we still don’t know much about her, we’re sure she’s got great things in her future!
RELATED: Everything About Matilda Reminds Me of Heath, Says Ledger’s Sister: ‘I Tell Her About Her Daddy’
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