Heath Ledger told Sarah Lyall that his recently completed role in ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008) had taken a toll on his ability to sleep:

‘Last week I probably slept an average of two hours a night. … I couldn’t stop thinking. My body was exhausted, and my mind was still going.’

At that time, he told Lyall that he had taken two Ambien pills, after taking just one had not sufficed, and those left him in ‘a stupor, only to wake up an hour later, his mind still racing.’

Ledger died on 22nd January 2008 from an accidental intoxication from prescription drugs.

After his death, Ledger’s former fiancée Michelle Williams also confirmed the actor had experienced trouble sleeping.

‘For as long as I’d known him, he had bouts with insomnia. He had too much energy. His mind was turning, turning, turning – always turning.’

A few months before his death, Ledger had finished filming his performance as the Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’.

His death occurred during editing of ‘The Dark Knight’ and in the midst of filming his last role as Tony in ‘The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus’.

Ledger received numerous posthumous accolades for his critically acclaimed performance in ‘The Dark Knight’ , including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Heath Ledger had relationships with actresses Lisa Zane, Heather Graham and Naomi Watts. In 2004, he met and began dating actress Michelle Williams on the set of ‘Brokeback Mountain’.

Their daughter was born on 28th October 2005 in New York City. Matilda‘s godparents are Brokeback co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and Williams’ Dawson’s Creek co-star Busy Philipps.

In January 2006, Ledger put his residence in Bronte, New South Wales up for sale, and returned to the United States, where he shared a house with Williams, in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, from 2005 to 2007.

In September 2007, Williams’ father confirmed thet they had ended their relationship.

After Ledger’s death, news outlets reported that his drug abuse had prompted Williams to request that he move out of the apartment they shared in Brooklyn.

After his break-up with Williams, in late 2007, the public media linked Ledger romantically with supermodels Helena Christensen and Gemma Ward.

In 2011, Ward stated that the pair began dating in November 2007 and their families spent Christmas together in their home town of Perth.