• Heath and his sister Kate were named after the two main characters in Wuthering Heights. He also had two half-sisters, Olivia Ledger and Ashleigh Bell.

• He was named one of People‘s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 2001. (And he was beautiful!)

• He was of Irish and Scottish ancestry, but was born in Australia, where he attended the private, all-boys school Guildford Grammar.

• Three of his films were screened at the 2005 Venice Film Festival: Brokeback Mountain , The Brothers Grimm and Casanova.

• Most of his wardrobe was designed by his friend Shem.

• He met Michelle Williams on the set of Brokeback Mountain. She gave birth to Heath’s daughter Matilda Rose Ledger on October 28, 2005. Heath and Michelle were engaged, but they ended their engagement in September 2007.

• Jake Gyllenhaal is Matilda’s godfather.

• Heath plays The Joker in the Batman film The Dark Knight, which is scheduled for U.S. release on July 18, 2008. He was the first non-American actor to portray The Joker. He was going to star in Baz Luhrmann’s pre-WWII movie, but backed out to play The Joker.

• He was chosen by Empire Magazine in 2007 as #79 of the “100 Sexiest Movie Stars in the World.”

• Heath was nominated for “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” Academy Award in 2006 but was passed over. But he did win, however, the Australian Film Institute’s “News Limited Readers’ Choice” and “International” awards that year.

• Now that he has passed on, people who profess to represent God are saying publicly that Heath deserved his untimely death because he played a homosexual in a movie. Someday they may realize that hate is hate, even if you choose to call it God’s will.

We say a reluctant good-bye to Heath Ledger. Thanks for everything you gave us. We’ll miss you.

Tags: Heath Ledger, movies, movie trivia