Here are photos of Ledger’s well-documented life in chronological order from newest to oldest. RIP Heath, we hardly knew you.

From 2007

From 2006

From 2005 and earlier

When I first read this story via e-mail I thought it was a joke, like one of those fake press releases that says some child actor you haven’t heard of in years has died in an accident. I was like “Oh yeah, the masseuse found him,” and I e-mailed Vera at I’m Not Obsessed that the article she sent had to be fake, because I just wouldn’t believe it. Except in this case it wasn’t someone unknown, it was Heath and the story was all too real.

We haven’t covered Ledger favorably in the past because he was a guy who shunned photographers, generally looked grumpy and was portrayed as a bit of a cad after his split with Michelle Williams. He seemed like he was a hipster Hollywood star who perfected the disheveled look and chased skirts. Maybe Ledger died of an accidental overdose of whatever medication he was taking to help him sleep, or maybe this was something else and we’ll soon hear about it. His family denies that he committed suicide and initial impressions point to an accident. TMZ reports that he had pneumonia at the time of his death, and we’ll have to wait to see if there are more details.

However Ledger died, there was undoubtedly much more to this guy than we saw. He wasn’t just a grumpy star who wasn’t into appearances, he was a person with interests and fears and a father who wanted to protect his daughter. There may have been a deep shyness behind his reluctance to accept the scrutiny that comes with being famous.

There was an incident at the Sydney premiere of Brokeback Mountain in which paparazzi squirted Heath and Michelle with water pistols. It was thought at first that Heath wasn’t too bothered by it, but his father later revealed that Heath was distraught and cried about it that night. He also asked his father to sell his home and decided to move out of his native Australia as a direct result. We blasted Heath for being a “crybaby,” but a fan really schooled us on how Heath was the victim of incredible harassment by those same paparazzi, who would camp outside his house and taunt him night and day. She also said that despite his persona Heath had a reputation in the industry of just being shy and fearful of public events:

Do you know that the Sydney paparazzi slept in his bushes and behind his bar-b-que to try to sneak pictures into his house? Every night! Do you know that they parked at the end of his driveway and waited for him to leave his home and followed him & Michelle everywhere they went? One even interruped a scene on the set of Candy, and then menacingly whispered, “See you at home, Heath.”

How would you feel? Do you really think that in order to be an actor a person has to be subjected to this? Where’s the line?

How much would it take for you to flip off someone who harrassed you daily?

At some point the stress builds up and you have to let it out. He cried. I don’t think that’s anything to be ashamed of. It doesn’t make him a “girl”. It makes him human.

Heath’s father didn’t tell anything Heath hadn’t admitted already. He had said in an earlier interview that he broke down when he got home. Extreme stress, built up over time can do that to a person. Not just being squirted by a water gun, but the constant harrassment and viciousness. That was just the final straw, and he had to let it out.

None of us can understand how much pressure and stress they had been putting on him and how long it had been going on. How many lies had been printed and how long he had kept quiet and not defended himself? He’s only now beginning to speak out.

Heath is a very gentle and private person. He doesn’t have an ego. Industry friends who know him tell me that he’s extremely shy. Sometimes people think he’s being aloof; premieres are a nightmare for him, and he’s uncomfortable being approached by strangers, but he doesn’t have an ego. He’s not ashamed to admit he cried. I think it’s admirable.

He wants to act. He likes the work. It’s the acting part he loves. And why should he have to give that up, just because some photographers lack common decency and manners.

[Comment from Phyllis of the now-down HeathHeathens.com]

Heath personally wrote a letter to the NY Post after they published a blurb in the Page Six section in November, 2005 revealing the exact location of his new brownstone with Michelle and daughter Matilda. He denied the story that they were rude to any neighbors and admonished the paper in a measured tone, saying that “Page Six’s revealing our whereabouts could possibly put our child in danger.”

Ledger had plenty of reason to be annoyed with the paparazzi and media based on his experience. It seems he couldn’t even escape them in death. There are already plenty of photos and video of his covered body being taken out to a waiting ambulance.

Australian actor Heath Ledger has died in his New York Apartment, following a suspected heart attack brought on by drug overdose. He was 28.

The New York Times reports he was found by a masseuse who had an appointment with Heath this afternoon at 3:31pm.

At 3:31 p.m., a masseuse arrived at Apartment 5A in the building for an appointment with Mr. Ledger, the police said. The masseuse was let in to the home by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they did not suspect foul play and said they found pills near body.

Heath Ledger was born in Perth, Australia, and became well known after appearing in the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You. He appeared in a variety of films including The Patriot, A Knight’s Tale, and Ned Kelly before breaking seriously into Hollywood with Brokeback Mountain. For this role as a homosexual cowboy he was nominated for an Oscar.

During the filming of Brokeback Mountain he began a relationship with his on-screen wife Michelle Williams, and together they have a two year old daughter Matilda. They broke off their relationship in September 2007.

This is truly awful news, particularly since I am not aware of any history of addiction for Heath, but the holidays can be a very hard time of year for some people. TMZ reports that Heath did have a history of substance abuse, but had been clean for a year.

They also report the death was accidental. The autopsy will be tomorrow.

Heath can currently be seen portraying Bob Dylan in I’m Not There, and he is also playing the Joker in the latest Batman film The Dark Knight. No word on whether filming of his role was complete. Currently he is filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus.

Our thoughts go out to Heath’s family and friends.

Michelle Williams – the surly actress who used to be with Heath Ledger, not the former member of Destiny’s Child – split with her baby’s father sometime in late summer of this year. In November she was linked with Junebug director Phil Morrison, but that either didn’t work out or she’s playing the field, because she was seen out to dinner with hot Canadian actor Ryan Gosling. They even took a stroll together. His rep insists that they were just discussing a potential project, though:

[Michelle Williams] was spotted enjoying a romantic meal in NYC with Ryan Gosling on November 11! After dining at Italian restaurant Piadina, the two 27-year-olds were seen strolling the city’s famed Bleecker street. Reps for Ryan, who ended his relationship with Rachel McAdams in March and was linked with Hayden Panettiere earlier this month, say the two met to discuss an upcoming film project.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, December 31, 2007]

Gosling had us all gossiping this fall when he gained twenty pounds for a role in Peter Jackson’s film The Lovely Bones, but was dumped from the project and replaced by Mark Wahlberg just a few days before filming was set to begin. Rumor had it that director Jackson thought Gosling had gained too much weight, but Gosling sang Jackson’s praises in a subsequent interview and said that they had creative differences over whether he was too young for the part.

Gosling seems like a great guy considering how mature and thoughtful he comes off in interviews. He has spoken candidly about his breakup with longterm girlfriend and fellow star of The Notebook, Rachel McAdams. He called her “one of the great loves of my life,” and said that they “went down swingin’ and… called it a draw.” If Michelle Williams is getting a piece of that she’s a lucky woman. He’s a major step up from Heath Ledger.

It could be true that Gosling and Williams were just having a romantic intimate dinner to discuss work and all, but since they’re both attractive single people you can’t help but think there’s something going on there.

Ryan Gosling is shown at the premiere of Lars and the Real Girl on 10/2/07. Michelle Williams is shown at the NY film festival on 10/4/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

Surly Michelle Williams and Heath Ledger seemed like a paparazzi-hating match made in heaven, but their three year relationship was over by the end of this summer. They have a two year old daughter, Matilda, and it seems like they are sharing custody as Heath has been seen out with her since their split.

There’s been news that Heath has been trying to score all over NY, and now Michelle Williams is said to be in a new relationship with Junebug director Phil Morrison:

Michelle Williams has found comfort in the arms of Junebug director Phil Morrison. The longtime friends “are being cautious. because they know Michelle is just coming off a serious relationship – but it’s hard to take things slow when you’re having so much fun,” says a friend of the couple.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, November 5, 2007]

The NY Post reports today and Michelle is looking to move out of the brownstone in Brooklyn that she shared with Heath and their daughter. It is said to be too big for just her and the two year-old:

FAMED Brooklyn resident Michelle Williams may be leaving her outer-borough followers in the dust. Williams was recently overheard telling friends she was considering a move to Manhattan, now that her cad of an ex, Heath Ledger, the father of her daughter, Matilda, has shipped off to SoHo. “The Brooklyn brownstone is too big for just her and the baby,” our tipster said of the actress’ Cobble Hill place.

[From NYPost.com]

At least she’s not moving in with the guy already, or maybe she is and that’s why she wants to get rid of her old place.

27 year-old Williams has four movies coming out in the next year, according to IMDB. She will next appear in the thriller The Tourist with Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackson. I was thinking that she might have hooked up with Morrison to get some choice parts, but unlike Rose McGowan’s relationship with Robert Rodriguez, their relationship might be driven more by genuine feeling rather than lusty ambition. While Williams’ career is doing well, Morrison only has a few films to his credit. His last two projects were 2005′s Junebug and Perfect Partner.

Michelle Williams is shown at the NY Film Festival on 10/4/07, thanks to PRPhotos. Picture of Phil Morrison below thanks to Jim Emerson’s blog.

Heath Leger and Michelle Williams lead a very low-key lifestyle in Brooklyn punctuated by the occasional annoying paparazzo who catches them going about their daily business with surly looks on their faces. They have a daughter who will be two next month, Matilda, and have been together for a little over two three years. There was a story first reported by DListed that they applied for a marriage license in Brooklyn, but it was never confirmed that there was an actual ceremony. They were spotted wearing what appeared to be wedding rings, but they could have been symbolic and don’t necessarily mean they were legally married.

Now US Weekly is reporting that they split up “quietly and amicably” a few weeks ago:

A source close to the couple tells Us that Heath and Michelle “quietly and amicably split a few weeks ago.”

“The relationship had been rocky recently. They tried very hard to make it work but finally decided to separate. They just grew apart.”

The couple, who live in Brooklyn, NY and have a daughter, Mathilda, 23 months, met on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2005.

“They have a beautiful daughter and they are both committed to being great parents.”

[From US Weekly]

Heath and Michelle’s reps haven’t commented on their supposed split yet.

I guess in all those candids of them looking miserable they really were miserable. They must have had that in common though, and maybe what once brought them together slowly eroded their relationship until there was nothing left. It’s sad when people break up, but they’re not my favorite celebrities and I can’t deny the schadenfreude I feel at hearing that they’ve broken up.

I’m interested to see if they really are married or not. Now that they’re breaking up we’ll probably get more details as the legal papers come out.

Heath Ledger is working on the Batman Begins sequel, in which he will play the role of Joker. Michelle Williams is looking busy lately too. According to IMDB she has four movies coming out next year, two of which she’s finished filming. Maybe they were both so wrapped up in their work they didn’t have time for each other and just drifted apart. Or maybe Heath was jealous that he wasn’t getting as much work as her.

In the header image Heath and Michelle are shown at the Independent Spirit Awards in February, and on vacation a while ago in the photo below.

Sorry if you’re a Heath Ledger fan, but he’s looking really fug. It doesn’t seem to bother his maybe-wife and the mother of his baby, Michelle Williams, as she’s still staring at him adoringly on the red carpet. Her hair is a bit of a risk, but it’s surely low-maintenance, and along with what I believe are some new features, she’s looking rather cute in that pixie cut.

Heath, on the other hand, needs to lose the caterpillar facial hair and soul patch and get a Britney ‘do. If you’re losing your hair, guys, and you’ve got a decent-shaped head, shave it off. I personally have a thing for bald and balding guys and think they’re hot with the right attitude and close-cropped haircut. Heath is an attractive, albeit arrogant-seeming guy, and he would look great in a nice short buzz cut. He’s probably cultivating the unkempt look to keep the female fans at bay, though, and it’s working.

Leo DiPorkchop gains a few lbs, while Heath doesn’t wash his hair, grows a bad moustache, and wears really ugly sunglasses. They both have their means of ensuring that their days as a teen heart throb are well behind them.

Heath and Michelle are shown at the Independent Spirit Awards, where Ryan Gosling and Shareeka Epps took home the surprise awards for best actor and actress for roles in Half Nelson, while Little Miss Sunshine won best picture, best screenplay and best director. Sarah Silverman hosted the ceremony.

Pictures from GossipRocks.

Michelle Williams was seen in the front row of the Sari Gueron Fashion Show hiding her left hand while she was being photographed. You can still see a hint of the wedding/engagement ring she was spotted out with earlier, sparking rumors that she had married her boyfriend and father of her child, Heath Ledger.

One thing that really strikes me is that her face looks much different. Her eyes, cheeks and nose look different. She had her fansites shut down for some reason (I love when people think they can control the Internet) so it’s harder to find older comparison shots of her, like it takes a few more seconds. There’s uh, speculation that she had a nose job a few years ago, and it’s possible she had something done recently, but it could just be the lighting. Yeah, right. Is this even the same person?

Pictures from Egotastic and Gossip Rocks.

Michelle Williams, the surly chick who had Heath Ledger’s emo baby and used to be in Dawson’s Creek, not the Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child, had all her fan websites, bulletin boards and forums shut down. Apparently she and her people just don’t get the Internet. Or maybe they do and they think they can control it:

I learn[ed] that Michelle William went into a crusade to shut down her MediaBlvd forum and it looks like it worked. Her forum on MB is closed now. This is the message that appears:

Quote:This forum has been closed for legal reasons. We would ask that our registered users refrain from mentioning Ms. William’s name and do not link to any images that include Ms. Williams in any of the MediaBlvd Community forums or websites, in anyway. This would include avatars, signatures, etc, or any other method of including an image.

And even her center, which would be the equivalent of Katie Holmes Pictures, is also closed.
www.thewilliamscenter.com

Quote:CLOSED
Other Michelle Williams fan-sites rejoice!

The Michelle fan-site Monopoly is now over. The Williams Center–the longest running Michelle Williams fan-site on the net, with the most respect for her is now closed. We met a lot of nice people–and we are thankful to everyone for their help over the years. When the site was created, we were all 7 years younger. It’s time we move on.

If you still need a Michelle fix, there’s one other great fan-site out there for her that if you search for it on google, you’ll have no trouble finding.

Inquiries about having our old content/why the site closed may not be answered because we just deleted everything and our reasons are private. We never thought it would turn into what it did. It was a dream come true for awhile there. And it couldn’t have happened without you, the visitor…we’ll never forget ya.

Michelle Williams must not want any fans. It looks like her wishes are about to come true.

Here’s Diane Keaton walking around barefoot and talking on the phone while picking her nose and examing it. She doesn’t seem to eat it, though, as Brooke Shields was busted doing just a couple of weeks ago.

Cindy Crawford was also photographed picking her nose, and I saw some candids of Michele Williams rolling one out a couple of months ago.

This is rather pointless, I know, and we all need to get rid of boogers somehow. Maybe it’s because I have a kid, but I usually have one of those mini packs of Kleenex on me.

Pictures from Gossip Rocks.

Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were snapped at “Bubby’s” restaurant in Tribeca last week. Ledger said he wanted some time off from filming to be a stay at home dad to eight month-old Matilda. It looks like he has been enjoying his role by not bothering to shave or bathe.

Ledger and Williams are scheduled to begin working on the weird “I’m Not There” Bob Dylan biopic this summer. The film will feature different actors and actresses playing the singer throughout his life. Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Julianne Moore and Richard Gere will join them in the film.

Reader Phyllis of HeathHeathens.com was not happy with our characterization of Ledger as a crybaby after his father revealed that he hightailed it out of Australia when the paparrazi squirted him with water on the red carpet. Ledger was composed at the time, but was said to have broken down and cried afterwards and asked his father to sell his Australian home. It turns out that Ledger was harassed by the paparrazi beyond what is allowable in the states, and that photographers delighted in tormenting him. People were camped out in his backyard and held a press conference on his front lawn. Phyllis says that Ledger probably never spat at the paparrazi as reported, and that he moved out of Australia after months of enduring constant monitoring. She says that “Heath is a very gentle and private person. He doesn’t have an ego.”

Heath always came off as aloof and cool to me, but maybe that’s a defense mechanism. I finally saw “Brokeback Mountain” and have to say that he’s a superb actor, and that it was one of the best films I’ve ever seen. Like Heath, I cried like a baby at the end.

Here are Heath and Michelle looking cute and cuddly at lunch. [via]