Heath Ledger

April 04

Heath's Early Years

Ledger is born in the beachfront town of Perth, Australia. His dad, Kim, an engineer who designed race cars, and mom, Sally, a French teacher, divorce when Ledger is 11. The budding actor – who's already working regularly in community theater – adapts easily to shuttling between his parents' homes. "It set me up for this bohemian life I've been leading," he tells Rolling Stone in 2006. "I feel like I've been traveling with the same bag since I was 11."

Roaring Away

At 16, Ledger, who says he "hates school," leaves home for Sydney, where he appears in the Aussie TV show Sweat. He also makes his feature film debut in Blackrock and takes the lead in Roar (left), Fox's new warrior drama – costarring Keri Russell. "It started off quite dignified and Braveheart-esque," Ledger tells Rolling Stone of the short-lived series. "But as they got desperate for ratings, slowly no one's wearing clothes." On the upside, he dates costar Lisa Zane (the sister of Titanic's Billy Zane), who's 18 years his senior.

Mad for Mel

Ledger stars as Mel Gibson's son in the Revolutionary War drama The Patriot (left). The movie hauls in $113 million and earns the 21-year-old his first taste of critical acclaim. Rolling Stone declares, "The Aussie newcomer has the talent and looks to become a major star." Ledger also lands on the cover of August’s Vanity Fair for a story breathlessly headlined, "We’re Havin' A Heath Wave."

Taking the 'Blond Out'

After the overwhelming success of his first few films, Ledger signs on to a string of bombs, including Ned Kelly, an epic costarring Orlando Bloom that earns just $84,625 in the U.S. "I wanted to take the blond out of my career, kill the direction it was going in," he tells Rolling Stone. "Whether consciously or unconsciously, I perfectly sabotaged any studio interest in working with me." The dark period has two highlights: playing Billy Bob Thornton's suicidal son in Monster's Ball; and dating his Ned Kelly costar Naomi Watts (left), who's 11 years his senior. Ledger and Watts date on-and-off for two years.

Summer

Falling for Michelle Williams

On the very first day of filming Brokeback, Ledger falls for costar Michelle Williams (left). "On the 5th take, Michelle and I [are] tobogganing down the hill..." he tells Rolling Stone. "And Michelle...twisted her knee – she was pretty much on crutches for the rest of the shoot. And I felt I always had to look after her after that." In May, PEOPLE reports that Ledger and Williams are expecting a baby. The pregnancy, Ledger tells Rolling Stone, is a surprise: "Our bodies definitely made those decisions for us." The two move into a brownstone in Brooklyn and begin nesting.