She has just turned 21, has millions in the bank and is in huge demand by the film and fashion worlds alike. But model and actress Gemma Ward has become a virtual recluse since the death of her then-boyfriend Heath Ledger in January this year.
Close friends in the New York modelling world say she is still “in bits” and finding it hard to cope with the fact that he died so suddenly, just as their fledgling romance had become serious.
Immediately after Heath’s death attention focused on his alleged relationship with Mary-Kate Olsen. But at Heath’s funeral in Perth, the scale of Gemma’s devastation attracted the attention of other mourners.
She and Heath had managed to keep their almost two-month romance quiet, with only close friends and family aware of the relationship when Heath was found dead from an accidental overdose of prescription pills in his New York apartment.
Gemma’s grief has been compounded in recent weeks by the release of moving footage of Heath in his last film, The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus, which he was shooting at the time of his death.
A close friend of Gemma’s in New York tells Grazia: “The truth is her world came crashing down when Heath died. Their relationship was at a fledgling stage but she had really fallen for him. It was all so sudden, it was pretty hard to take in. I don’t think anyone can underestimate how hard this has been for her.”
In the months since his death, Gemma has spent time travelling, trekking across Nepal and taking a road trip across Australia in a bid to “find herself” again and focus on the future.
But apart from two catwalk shows and a shoot that appears in this month’s Spanish marie claire, the model-turned actress has turned down all offers of work since Heath’s death.
Far from embracing the hectic social life of her New York base, Gemma spends most of her time in the company of her mother Claire, refusing invitations to parties and other events.
Gemma and Heath met around September last year following his split from actress Michelle Williams, with whom he had a daughter, Matilda.
Friends say Gemma initially spurned 28-year-old Heath’s advances but he followed her around like “a lost puppy”.
The friend says: “At first Gemma was apprehensive. She didn’t really want to get involved but as time went on she was really attracted to him, he was so sweet. They had so much in common, in the end Gemma just couldn’t resist his charms.”
The two were just friends until December, when romance blossomed and they travelled back to Australia together for Christmas. They bonded over their Perth origins and Heath loved Gemma’s down-to-earth attitude, despite her fame and fortune.
Gemma’s father said his daughter had made Heath “really happy” during that last holiday together. Gemma found a kindred spirit in Heath, who, like her, found fame at a young age. At 17, she replaced Kate Moss as the face of Calvin Klein’s Obsession, before being chosen by John Mayer to star in a music video. Her beauty and free spirit made her a favourite of icons such as Karl Lagerfeld and won her contracts with Prada, YSL, Gucci and Chanel.
To read the full story, see this weeks Grazia Magazine (Australian).
That's so sad to hear that she's been suffering!
Love Always xoxo
S.A.A.
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Image: Lucy Liu in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar
