Heath Ledger's Co-stars Gave His 2-Year-Old Daughter Their Salaries as He Did Not Include Her in His Will

On January 22, 2008, the Australian actor’s lifeless body was found by his housekeeper and masseuse in a New York apartment he had been renting. His death at only 28, caused by a fatal combination of sleeping pills and prescription drugs, shocked countless fans.

Just as surprising as his death was the fact that he had left his only child out of his will.

Matilda is Ledger’s daughter with his ex-girlfriend Michelle Williams, whom he met and fell in love with on the set of Brokeback Mountain in 2004. The couple welcomed her in October 2005 but decided to call it quits in September 2007, after three years together.

The following year, when Matilda was only 2 and Ledger was filming The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus after finishing The Dark Knight, he accidentally overdosed.

After the Oscar-winning actor’s death, many were surprised to find out that Matilda had been left out of his estate, which reportedly included around $145 thousand in New York assets and more wealth and properties in Australia. He did not do it on purpose, though.

He had signed a will in April 2003 – before his relationship with Williams and the birth of their daughter – leaving everything he owned to his parents and three sisters. He simply had not updated his will to reflect the addition to his family.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was only halfway finished when Ledger died, and director Terry Gilliam decided to replace him with three actors: Jude Law, Johnny Depp, and Colin Farrell.

Concerned for Matilda after she was accidentally left out of her father’s will, the three A-listers reportedly decided, in an act of kindness, to donate their earnings from the film to the little girl.

The whole situation about Ledger’s estate turned out to have a happy ending, though, because his parents and sisters, who were named in his will as his heirs, decided to give the entire fortune to Matilda. The actor’s father, Kim, told People that was what they had planned “from the moment my boy passed away.”

He added, “There was never any question about the fact that Heath’s estate would go to Matilda. Never a question. We are very close to Michelle and Matilda.”