Heath Ledger - His Life & Legacy

Remembering the talented star’s true loves and troubling final days

- Jennie Noonan

Thirteen years ago, Heath Ledger spent his final Christmas holidays in his hometown of Perth, Australia. “I had the most beautiful time … being able to see all my friends and family,” he told The West Australian newspaper at the time. “It’s really enabled me to be a boy again … and feel like I’d never left. It’s truly been an incredibly therapeutic and a much-needed trip home.”

Three weeks into the new year, he was gone. On the afternoon of January 22, 2008, the actor’s body was discovered by a massage therapist who had an appointment with Ledger at his SoHo, Manhattan, residence. Paramedics arrived at the scene and attempted CPR, but it was too late. A toxicology report revealed that he had several prescription opioid and benzodiazepine medications in his system, which led to an accidental lethal overdose. He was 28 years old.

The star’s career barely spanned two decades – but he’d more than made his mark as an actor. From his breakout international role in 1999’s 10 Things I Hate About You to 2000’s The Patriot, 2001’s Monster’s Ball, 2005’s Brokeback Mountain – for which he received a Best Actor Oscar nomination – and his iconic turn as the Joker in 2008’s The Dark Knight, Ledger displayed impressive talent. “I only do this because I’m having fun,” he once said of his career. “The day I stop having fun, I’ll just walk away.” But his commitment to his work could never be denied.