Heath Ledger, one of the brightest young film stars was found dead in his New York apartment on Monday. At the age of 28, his promising acting career was just beginning.

Police said that a bottle of sleeping pills was found on a nearby night table, but they had not yet determined if that had anything to do with his death.

Two years ago, Ledger was nominated for an Oscar in the controversial movie directed by Ang Lee, "Brokeback Mountain." On the movie set, Ledger met Michelle Williams, who played his wife in the film. The two later had a daughter and lived together in Brooklyn until they split up last year.

Ledger was born in 1979 in Perth, Australia. He got first acting role at age of ten. When he was 19, he came to Hollywood and co-starred in the movie, "10 Things I Hate About You."

Ledger had told The New York Times in a recent interview that he had been under a lot of stress and was having trouble in sleeping.

The hospital is still looking for the exact cause of his death.