Hollywood lost one of its rising stars, Heath Ledger on Tuesday. The Australian actor was found dead at his Manhattan residence.
Son of French teacher Sally Ledger Bell (nee Ramshaw), and Kim Ledger, a race car driver and mining engineer, Ledger was born in Perth, Australia.
His parents named their kids -- Heath and his sister Katherine -- after the leads characters of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights.
The acting bug hit Ledger young and he left school to pursue a career in it with girlfriend Jenna Sorrell. After a cross-country drive to Sydney with his best friend, Trevor DiCarlo, Ledger returned to Perth for the television series Sweat (1996), in which he played a gay cyclist.
The following year, Ledger made his film debut in an Australian movie Blackrock followed by the teen comedy 10 Things I Hate About You in 1999. He also had the lead role in the acclaimed Australian movie Two Hands, directed by Gregor Jordan.
Photographs: Getty Images
Also see: Nominee spotlight: Heath Ledger
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