Michelle Williams dreams of Heath Ledger; transforms as Marilyn

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Michelle Williams, no stranger to beauty and tragedy, is starring in a magazine cover shoot as Marilyn Monroe, whose life story is so strongly associated with those qualities.

Williams once again dons the platinum blond hair of Monroe, whom she portrays in ‘My Week With Marilyn,’ along with intimate wear and plenty of sultriness for a GQ spread dropping this month. And while her transformation is sublime the story gets down to the residual heartbreak of losing Heath Ledger.

‘Our initial meeting, the circumstances of how we first met, were cosmic or something,’ Williams recalled, ‘...it’s a bit like: We had a lot of things to do, because we didn’t have a lot of time, or something.’

Heath and Michelle dated from 2004 to 2007, cohabiting for the last two years of their courtship thanks to the arrival of a baby girl, Matilda. Ledger died in 2008 from a lethal combination of prescription medications, but the magazine wondered: Had Heath not passed, did Williams see them ending up together?

‘[It’s] one of my favorite things to imagine,’ she said through tears. ‘It’s actually one of my favorite places to visit.’

Williams won best actress in a musical or comedy at Sunday’s Golden Globe Awards. Her speech was a testament to little Matilda, whose ‘bravery and exuberance is the example that I take with me in my work and in my life.’

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-- Matt Donnelly
twitter.com/MattDonnelly