Matilda Rose Ledger was born on October 28, 2005, about a year after her father Heath Ledger and mother, actress Michelle Williams, began dating after meeting on the set of Brokeback Mountain.
When in 2007 the pair decided to mutually end their relationship, they remained friends and until Ledger's untimely passing. At the time their daughter Matilda was only 2 years old and Michelle decided to keep her away from the public eye. Michelle released a statement after Heath's passing.
"Please respect our need to grieve privately. My heart is broken. I am the mother of the most tender-hearted, high-spirited, beautiful little girl who is the spitting image of her father. All that I can cling to is his presence inside her that reveals itself every day. His family and I watch Matilda as she whispers to trees, hugs animals, and takes steps two at a time, and we know that he is with us still. She will be brought up in the best memories of him."
In November 2016, Williams shared with Net-A-Porter a rare interview and opened up about raising Matilda without her father.
"In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I'm a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you've been. In pretty much all senses but one," Williams said. "I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not having her dad. You know, that's just something that doesn't... I mean, it just won't ever be right.”
Today, Matilda is a beautiful 11-year-old who has her father's "energy."
9 years ago Heath Ledger was found dead in his Manhattan apartment. The Australian actor died from a cardiac arrest which was caused by an acute intoxication by a combination of prescription medication and sleeping pills.
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