Heath Ledger’s Daughter, Matilda, Takes After Her Late Dad, Says Grandfather

When Heath Ledger tragically passed away on Jan. 22, 2008, his daughter, Matilda, was only two-years-old.

Today, she’s nine-years-old and even though she grew up without her dad in her life, her grandfather — Heath’s father, Kim — says she still shares many of the late actor’s traits.

Heath Ledger in 2006, just more than a year before his untimely death.

“She’s got an enormous number of his mannerisms,” the eldest Ledger gushed of his granddaughter. “She’s very inquisitive, she’s got his energy… Heath never slept from when he was two and Matilda’s like that.

“I mean she’s just got this ball of energy and she radiates this little aura, Heath was kind of like that. So it’s fabulous really.”

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During his interview with Australian talk show ‘The Project,’ he called Matilda's mom, Michelle Williams, “brilliant” and praised the 34-year-old actress for keeping Heath’s memory alive for their daughter, who has grown increasingly curious about her father’s life as she’s grown older.

“[Matilda’s] always full of questions, always wanting to know this or that about her dad,” Kim said. “And I guess that will just get more intense as she gets older and obviously we would welcome that.”

Matilda and mom Michelle Williams just months before Heath’s tragic death.

The grandfather says he keeps in touch with Matilda, who is based in the US, via Skype and hopes that one day, when she’s old enough, she’ll visit Heath’s native Australia.

In the meantime, Kim has honored his son’s legacy by starting a not-for-profit organization, called ScriptWise, dedicated to educating people about the dangers of abusing prescription drugs, which ultimately took the life of his talented son.

Heath’s father, Kim, says he sees his late son in his granddaughter.

“I think it’s lack of education, at the end of the day I guess there’s a feeling out there that if the doctor prescribes it, it’s okay,” he told ‘The Project.’

“I made this organization because I was approached by families that were in the same situation that we were, that we found ourselves in accidentally.”