Heath Ledger Passed Away 7 Years Ago Today

Seven years ago today, the world mourned the passing of legendary actor Heath Ledger. He was a talented actor known for many roles, specifically the Joker in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight.

Ledger was born on April 4, 1979 in Perth, Western Australia. His older sister Kate, an actress and later a publicist, to whom he was very close inspired his acting on stage as did his love of Gene Kelly.

In 1999, Ledger caught the attention of critics and fans alike in his breakout role, 10 Things I Hate About You.

During the early 2000s, Ledger's career soared. He starred in supporting roles as Gabriel Martin, the eldest son of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) in The Patriot (2000) and as Sonny Grotowski, the son of Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) in Monster's Ball (2000).

He also starred in leading or title roles in A Knight's Tale (2001), The Four Feathers (2002), The Order (2003), Ned Kelly (2003), Casanova (2005), The Brothers Grimm (2005), and Lords of Dogtown (2005).

In 2005 Ledger received a Golden Globe nomination for his role as Wyoming ranch hand Ennis Del Mar in Brokeback Mountain. He also received a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance making him, at age 26, the ninth youngest nominee for a Best Actor Oscar.

On January 22, 2008, Ledger passed away.

Later that year, The Dark Knight was released nearly six month's after his death. In the film he played Batman's nemesis, the ruthless psychotic, the Joker. For his performance, Ledger won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

R.I.P. Mr. Ledger, and thank you.