A decade after Heath Ledger’s tragic passing, his former girlfriend, actress Naomi Watts, has paid tribute to his “beautiful soul” on social media.
“Thinking about this beautiful soul today,” Watts, 49, posted to Instagram this morning.
“Ten years ago he left this world. He was a true original. Heart always on his sleeve, with the most powerful charisma, strength, humour and talent. I will never forget his gentle spirit.”
Watts, who moved to Australia from England when she was a teenager, and the Perth-born Ledger dated for two years until 2004.
She said in 2011: “He was really a very special soul who made a great impact on my life,” Daily Mail reports. “He was a man completely filled with joy.”
Ledger died on January 22, 2008 in his Manhattan apartment. He was 28.
Before his death, the Australian actor, who’d starred in Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight, was having trouble sleeping.
“Last week I probably slept an average of two hours per night,” Ledger told The New York Times in November 2007, just months before his death.
LISTEN: Bec Sparrow and Robin Bailey deep dive on grief, discussing ways to process it and how to move on. Post continues after audio.