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January 22, 2008 -- Actor Heath Ledger was found dead today in a Broome Street apartment, apparently from a drug overdose.
Ledger, 28, was well known for his role in "Brokeback Mountain," and he stars in the upcoming "The Dark Knight" Batman movie as the Joker.
He split last year from partner, Michelle Williams, with whom he has a daughter, Matilda
When he was found in a bedroom this afternoon and pills were strewn across his bedroom, his housekeeper told police. It was unclear if it was an intentional or accidental death.
The housekeeper let in a massaeuse who tried to wake Ledger, and found him unresponsive at 3:20 p.m. The massaeuse then noticed sleeping pills strewn around his room and called paramedics at 3:26 p.m.
The father of one was pronounced dead at 3:35 p.m.
Ledger's early career as an actor was marked by small roles in several independent features in his home country of Australia.
He broke onto the international movie scene in 1999 with his turn as the brooding high-school heart-throb who captures Julia Stiles' attention in "10 Things I Hate About You." After starring roles in "The Patriot," "A Knight's Tale," and "The Brothers Grimm," Ledger earned critical acclaim with his poignant performance as a gay cattle rancher in director Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor.
In 2007, he appeared in the independent film "I'm Not There," as one of many incarnations of Bob Dylan. He recently wrapped filming on 'The Dark Knight,' the sequel to 'Batman Begins,' in which he plays the villainous Joker. His most recent role was in director Terry Gilliam's 'The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,' which is listed as still "in production" on imdb.com.
Ledger's love life earned him as many headlines as his acting career. He has been romantically linked to such A-list starlets as Naomi Watts and Heather Graham. He has a daughter, Matilda Rose, with actress Michelle Williams. The couple, praised for their down-to-earth lifestyle in Brooklyn's Carroll Gardens, announced their split earlier this year.
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