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He was an actor from Australia who had moved to the United States to pursue a career on the silver screen, while she was famously known for her role on the teen drama series Dawson’s Creek. They met while filming the Academy Award winning cowboy flick Brokeback Mountain, and their connection was instant.
His name was Heath Ledger, a tantalizing talent who was well on his way to becoming one of the Hollywood greats because of his star quality and grand emotional range, while she was Michelle Williams, an actress riding on the fame she had garnered while on TV from a tender age.
They began dating in 2005 and welcomed their daughter Matilda Rose, a year later. They would break up in 2007 but enjoyed joint custody of their daughter until the accidental tragedy that robbed the world of Heath Ledger in 2008. Michelle would then continue to raise her daughter as a single parent, trying as best she could to give her daughter a normal existence; away from the limelight that was slowly encroaching since the demise of Heath Ledger. To be a good parent. Michelle formulated rules, and these are 15 Things Michelle Williams doesn't allow her daughter to do (that Heath Ledger might have):
Have Too Much Privilege
Michelle Williams took the role of the mother to kidnapped teenage millionaire John Paul Getty III in the movie All the Money in the World. In the flick, she portrays a mother who would stop at nothing to get her son back. She plays the role of Gail. The movie is a reenactment of the 1973 kidnapping of Getty while in Rome, and the 17-million-dollar ransom that his grandfather – who was then considered the richest man in the world – refused to pay.
The film explored the burdens of wealth and its ease of corrupting those who possess it. This is a fact that Michelle can well relate to; being an accomplished actress. She may not rake in the huge paychecks, but she is privy to a bit of privilege.
She mentioned that tremendous privilege was very destructive and a very big disadvantage. She likened it to a vacuum, noting that too much of privilege is not good for living.
As much as she struggles with the desire to give her child everything, as does every parent, Williams also has the sense to set limits for her daughter and make her appreciate the good fortune which she (Matilda) gets to enjoy. (Source: Today)
Overexposure To The Limelight
When Heath Ledger passed away in January 2008 from an accidental run-in with substances, it gave the media a leeway to dig into his past, highlighting his troubled days leading up to his demise. They were on a witch hunt, following anything that promised them a lead.
The people who got the heat of this frenzy were his loved ones, more so his former partner Michelle Williams and daughter Matilda Rose. In spite of their respectful request for privacy so as to mourn the iconic actor who had died before the release of the movie for which he would win an Oscar posthumously.
To escape this, she moved with her daughter to a rural farming countryside to keep her away from the media who were baying for blood. She lived here for six years before he finally moved back to the city.
She has since then tried as she can to give her daughter a normal existence, ridding her of excesses that may destabilize her normal growth. One of the excesses she has kept her from is the celebrity limelight. Matilda has rarely been in the spotlight since the passing of her father; growing up into a normal 12-year old on whom the light shines when it is aiming at her four time Academy Award nominee mother. (Source: EOnline)
Have A Cellphone
The world is quickly and surely moving towards a technological age; with the digitization of nearly every aspect of life and the demise of paper, it is safe to say that soon everything will be online. From communication, to entertainment, to shopping, to online studies, the very fabric of society is slowly morphing into the advanced age.
One such vehicle that has played a very big role is social media. With children as young as 10 having an online presence, communication has forever been revolutionized.
One person who is still hanging on to traditional methods of living is Michelle William’s daughter, Matilda.
During an interview with Today, she revealed that she lived in a rural farming community in Brooklyn, and this helped to form Matilda’s perception and understanding of the world. She said that she wanted her to have as normal an existence as ever and one of the ways of ensuring this is denying her daughter phone privileges.
It is a non-negotiable, according to Michelle, and she has instead exposed her daughter to a lot of animals. As much as it may look unreasonable to us, Michelle is convinced that eventually, Matilda will understand that this was done for her own good.
Emancipate Herself Too Soon
When she was 15, Michelle Williams legally emancipated herself from her parents and moved to Los Angeles on her own. She did this so that she could pursue her dream to be an actress. As this emancipation is a known fact, what is not common knowledge is the troubles that she experienced when she did that.
She recalls of how difficult an experience it was for her, saying that in spite of the fact that she was 15, she was still a child and nothing prepared her for what she would encounter there. She says living alone in an apartment was terrible.
She would sleep on an egg crate on the floor as she had no idea of how to make a home. The only thing she knew how to cook was pasta and struggled with feelings of loneliness.
She also admits that there were damaging experiences during those years and she felt like prey, all alone in Los Angeles. She has not elaborated on some of those dark experiences, we expect that they may be too troubling for her to relive. She is grateful that she survived the ordeal and that whatever was broken got put back together.
However, she cannot imagine her daughter going through the same experience. (Source: TheList)
Be Too Dependent On Others
Michelle Williams is fiercely independent. But how could she not be; any kid who's legally separated from her parents at the age of 15 would, one would hope, establish a sense of independence as a result. Williams, however, credits her father with gifting her a fierce desire to make it on her own. She told GQ that it was her father who taught her how to fish and shoot clay pigeons. He also helped to cultivate a reading culture in her by always making sure she had something read.
When she landed the role of Jen Lindley on the show Dawson’s Creek, she lived alone in an apartment and had to learn to fend for herself the hard way.
She never admitted when she did not know what she was doing or was lost. She says she would forge on as if everything was okay. To her, it was better to be lost than to seem as though she did not know what she was doing.
She even hid the fact she needed a map when she was first living in New York, and would stash it whenever anybody else was around. Talk about independence. But when we look at her now and the trajectory that her life and career have taken, we are glad that Matilda has an independent woman for a role model.
If She Takes To Acting, She Cannot Get Too Immersed Into Her Character
During an interview with Star2.com, Michelle Williams was asked if she would allow her daughter to pursue a career in acting. To this, she responded by saying that her greatest desire for her daughter is that she stays true to herself, and if her desire is to be an actress then Michelle would do all she could to support her. However, she hoped that Matilda would wait till adulthood to make that decision.
If she does venture into acting, then her mother may not allow her to get as engrossed in her character as her father famous for.
In a German documentary dubbed Too Young to Die, Heath’s father Kim revealed a diary which served as his son’s inspiration pool while he was preparing for his Oscar Award winning performance for Batman: The Dark Knight.
In the diary, it was revealed just how invested Heath was in the character that it was alleged that he never recovered from what that character did to him. At the end of the diary, he penned the ominous farewell BYE BYE.
As much as it may be Michelle’s wish for her daughter to follow her heart’s desire, she may not allow her to go down the dark path that her father took.
Enter A Relationship Too Quickly
When Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams met on the set of Brokeback Mountain, their connection was instant and their romance sparked off almost immediately. Everybody who was on the set could see it. There was one instance during the shoot when Michelle had an accident while shooting a scene and had to be taken to the hospital. While at the emergency room, Heath held onto her hand and tried his best to comfort her. When shooting wound up, Michelle was pregnant.
A year after the on-set romance spilled off into the real world, a beautiful little girl was brought into the world. Her name was Matilda Rose, the daughter of Heath Ledger and his partner Michelle Williams. The two, together with their daughter, had moved into an upscale neighborhood in Brooklyn to begin life as a family.
However, in 2007, news broke out that the two had broken up due to his alleged substance use, hard partying and other irreconcilable differences. The romance ended after just 3 years though both maintained joint custody of their daughter.
It is clear that things did move a little too quickly between the two and this may have been a contributing factor to how things spiraled quickly. Michelle may have to teach her daughter to take her time when it comes to romance. (Source: People)
Be Overcome By Fame
Becoming a celebrity can take someone by storm, especially if they are newbies to its fickle nature. All the selfies, photo ops, stalkers, and fans screaming your name, as exhilarating as it may sound, can sometimes get to you.
There are those who let it get to their heads and go on to become difficult obnoxious people who think that the world revolves around them.
Then there is the group of people who get overwhelmed by the fame and attention; feeling that it demanded too high a price than they are willing to pay.
Take Heath Ledger for instance; in spite of acting prowess, ruggedly handsome looks and tousled hair, which all spoke of the kind of man that fame ran after, during his tour to the United States for the movie A Knight’s Tale, the feelings of being owned did not get down well with him.
His friend, director Matt Amato, revealed in the documentary I Am Heath Ledger that Heath wanted fame, and then when he had gotten it, he did not want it anymore. Matt said that Heath was mortified that he had become owned.
Michelle works to keep her daughter from the negative effects of too much publicity by striving to give her as normal an existence as she can, and also by keeping her away from the limelight to allow her grow properly. (Source: EOnline)
Be Negatively Impacted By Her Father
Her one-time partner's death came as a shock to fans around the world, but Williams and Matilda, the young daughter of whom she shared custody with Ledger, understandably took the brunt of it. The paparazzi intrusion was so severe that, Michelle Williams had asked a Journalist with The Guardian to alter the details of where she was then living in an attempt to get some privacy.
Although Williams and Ledger separated in 2007, that didn't make Ledger's death from an accidental overdose any easier on the young mother. Particularly as everybody seemed intent on forcing her to discuss the details of the tragic event.
Naturally, she was most concerned with the effect on Matilda, describing life back then as "unmanageable" and telling the interviewer that it was an impossible situation "to explain to a kid."
She opened up to Porter Magazine about watching Matilda in her swimsuit, get on a bike, waved and smiled at her as she rode off to go see her friends. She said that that simple and innocent moment of happiness caused her to go back into the house and sob.
Matilda had not allowed what had happened to her father to affect her and she maintained her innocence. She was more than okay, she was happy. (Source: TheGuardian)
Let Everyone Know Every Detail About Her Life
Michelle Williams holds the title of one of Hollywood’s most private celebrities. Little to none is known concerning her life and that of her 12-year-old daughter Matilda Rose, beyond that which she makes us privy to.
She has strived as much as she can to live a normal life; living in Red Hook, an isolated part of Brooklyn, New York; she drives a Volvo station wagon and lives in a two bedroom apartment that was carved out of a converted warehouse. Talk about hiding in plain sight.
While she was living with Heath Ledger and Matilda in upscale Brooklyn, in a six bedroom three car garage hill townhouse, they still tried to maintain a normal lifestyle which worked to take the spotlight off them.
Though driving a McLaren to a dinner was a bit of an over-stretch. After the death of Ledger, she substituted the high paced, glaring lights that Hollywood had to offer for a quiet life with her daughter Matilda in Brooklyn. Very little is known about her personal life beyond that fact, as she has successfully kept a lid on everything going on in her life.
She lives simply and it is something that has helped keep people out of her business; a lesson that her daughter is no doubt catching on. (Source: Elle)
Let The Bad Guys Win
One of the biggest casualties of the October 2017 #MeToo movement that took Hollywood by storm was Kevin Spacey. The Academy Award winner was not only fired from his role on the Netflix show, House of Cards, for which he had previously won a Golden Globe award. He was also fired from the movie All The Money in the World, in which he starred alongside Michelle Williams.
Following the allegation leveled against him, he was let go from the project and his parts had to be re-shot using Christopher Plummer.
When the fellow actor, Michelle Williams was asked to do reshoots because of Spacey’s firing, she was willing to do it, a fact she says was partly due to the comments of her daughter Matilda, who instead of being upset that her mum was going back to work, told her that they had worked too hard on that project to let it all go down the drain because of one bad guy. Her exact words to her mum were, “You can’t let the bad guys win.”
This act enabled the production team to keep from canceling the whole movie which went on to receive three Golden Globe nominations. Talk about the wisdom of the youth. (Source: Vox)
Keep From Grieving After Tragedy
Tragedy normally strikes at the most unexpected time. It destabilizes you and throws your whole life into a disarray that can take a long time to recover from. One of the worst kinds of tragedy is the loss of a loved one and a close family member.
This is the reality that Michelle Williams and her daughter Matilda Rose were thrust into by the unexpected demise of Heath Ledger in January 2008. It came as a shock to them as it did to everybody who loved and celebrated the Australian actor.
Following the death of Ledger, Williams found it difficult to focus on anything, pouring all of her energy into raising Matilda and trying to create a normal routine for her. She even considered giving up acting altogether.
During an interview with The Telegraph, she said that she stopped taking in the world around her and thus had no reason to keep acting. However, after taking her time to grieve, she was able to bounce back, after much coercion from Derek Cianfrance, for the relationship drama Blue Valentine.
Because of the time she was able to take to grieve Heath Ledger, Michelle was able to take up the role for which she got an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination
Get Her Picture Taken By Paparazzi
Paparazzi are the necessary evil that comes with fame and fortune. They are everywhere; where you expect them to be and where you don’t. They are always locked and loaded with a camera in hand, ready to snap away at you, hoping to get a tabloid-worthy snap or an angle that will breed just enough controversy to accentuate its value.
Although some celebrities have found ingenious ways of dealing with the paparazzi, the greatest casualties are normally the children of these celebrities.
Because of this, Kristen Bell got a number of media outlets to stop publishing unauthorized photos of celebrities’ children. One person who was extremely pleased about this new protocol, was Matilda Rose’s mum, Michelle Williams.
After the horror that followed the passing of Heath Ledger in 2008, which caused her to move from Los Angeles to New York, she must have been relieved at this. She has even been quoted calling Kristen Bell her “personal hero” and how that ban changed their lives.
With this new rule, she can walk with her daughter without the fear of an inappropriate photo of her daughter being taken. Matilda’s father though, never seemed to mind, with several shots of him and his daughter before he passed currently in circulation. (Source: EssentialKids)
Fall In Love To Escape The Pain Of Loss
Different people have different ways of dealing with the loss of a loved one. Some take time away to deal with the grief; others go for therapy while others rely on the warmth and company of family to help them get through such a difficult period. These are some of the healthy ways of one rising out of grief.
On the other hand, there are unhealthy ways of dealing with grief, including immersing yourself into your work, substances and partying while others get back onto the dating wagon a bit too soon so that they don’t have to deal with the grief.
When Heath Ledger passed away – as much as they were not together – Michelle was greatly affected. She, however, did not quickly jump onto the dating scene after Heath’s death.
During an interview with Porter Magazine, Michelle stated how dating was not the same but was not in a hurry to marry in the future. She dated Jason Segel most recently, but they broke up due to ‘logistical difficulties.’
She said that she found sanctuary with women who are raising women on their own. One lesson that Matilda may learn from her mother is how she did not get back on the wagon to avoid dealing with the grief. (Source: EOnline)
Lose Her Father's Energy
Michelle Williams has worked really hard to keep her daughter out of the limelight. From living in a rural farming community for many years to moving from Los Angeles to the East coast (New York), she has tried to shield her daughter from the media frenzy that continues to follow the fact that she is the daughter of the late, great Heath Ledger.
That aside, she has allowed the vibrant, energetic spirit that was so evident in Heath to continue to thrive in her daughter.
Kate Ledger, Heath Ledger’s sister, during an interview with the Sunday Telegraph, said that Michelle has tried to keep Matilda’s existence as normal as possible in a predominantly abnormal world.
She went on to add that Matilda has a ball of energy just like that of her father. She said that Matilda had her father’s sleeplessness and also radiated the same aura that Heath Ledger carried around while he was alive. From how she played and laughed, all that could be seen was her father’s persona, she said.
This kind of living memory of her late partner is something that Michelle does not allow her daughter to lose. It is a legacy that will speak of him for eons to come. (Source: EOnline)
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