What Michelle Williams Tells Her Daughter Matilda About Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger passed away in April 2008, but the actor lives on in his 12-year-old daughter, Matilda, whom he shared with actress Michelle Williams.

In a new interview with Vanity Fair, Williams opened up about her relationship with Ledger, explaining that she often shares one sweet story with her daughter to remember her dad.

“I always say to Matilda, ‘Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes,’” she shared, explaining the “radical acceptance” Ledger had for her.

Ledger passed away when Matilda was two, leaving Williams to raise their daughter.

Williams explained that Ledger’s acceptance of her informs how she has parented Matilda, saying, “I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself.”

Though Williams and Ledger had split five months before the actor’s death, Williams immediately returned home from filming a movie after Ledger passed away from an accidental overdose.

After being relentlessly tracked by the paparazzi, she moved Matilda to upstate New York “in a desire to create a sane home environment,” though the press still attempted to follow the pair.

“I’ll never forget going to the post office and seeing a sign hung on the wall for anyone with information about myself and my daughter, to please call this number,” the 37-year-old recalled. “Um, so I took that down.”

Williams and Matilda have since been able to keep a low profile, with the actress raising her daughter on her own.

“When you’re a single parent, and that element of provider and protection is missing, it’s scary,” she said.

That interview also saw Williams reveal that she had married musician Phil Elverum this month, with the ceremony taking place in the Adirondacks with family and friends present.

“Obviously I’ve never once in my life talked about a relationship,” the Oscar nominee shared. “But Phil isn’t anyone else. And that’s worth something.”

“[It’s] very sacred and very special,” she said of their relationship, adding that Elverum had relocated from Washington to Brooklyn to live with her.

“Ultimately the way he loves me is the way I want to live my life on the whole,” she added. “I work to be free inside of the moment. I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself, and I am finally loved by someone who makes me feel free.”

Williams also advised readers not to settle in their relationships.

“Don’t settle for something that feels like a prison, or is hard, or hurts you,” she said. “If it doesn’t feel like love, it’s not love.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Patrick McMullan