Kate Bosworth remembers Heath Ledger on what would have been his 40th birthday: 'You made one hell of a mark'

Heath Ledger is gone but will never be forgotten.

On what would have been his 40th birthday, Kate Bosworth posted a touching tribute to the “sensitive,” “gentle,” “wickedly funny” and “extraordinarily special” actor. She talked about being in the same social circle with him as rising young Hollywood stars in the “crazy” early aughts, and said he was always “sweet,” which she appreciated being right out of high school, shy and not yet comfortable in the scene.

Along with a black and white photo of the Australian actor giving a wink and smile, The Domestics star, 36, wrote, “Doesn’t seem so long ago we were all running around LA, shotgunned into Hollywood + popping off the new millennium’s cork, having a laugh. It was a crazy time. I was literally straight out of high school, feeling young & super shy and he was always so sweet within a surreal scene.”

She continued, “I really, really would have loved to have known Heath today, at 40. No limits on what he would have accomplished. Here is what I remember: he was sensitive, gentle, kind, wickedly funny. Extraordinarily special. Time goes by, his image still a teenage heartthrob. And his work. So brilliant + honest & he was just getting started. But to remember the Human. I was on the outer orbit. Imagine those close to the sun.”

It ended with, “Thinking of all the people who knew and loved him on this day. Man, you made one hell of a mark.”

There was speculation that Bosworth and Ledger were coupling up in 2007 — in the days after he split with Michelle Williams, with whom he shares a daughter Matilda, and Bosworth’s romance with Orlando Bloom fizzled. However, he was single and linked to every woman he was seen with — including Mary-Kate Olsen, Gemma Ward and Kate Hudson — in that time period.

Ledger died at his Manhattan home in January 2007 from an accidental drug overdose. His daughter is now 13 and Williams was married for the first time to musician Phil Elverum last year.

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