Did Julia Stiles & Heath Ledger Date? Their Relationship, Explained
Things are going to get emotional on the October 20 episode of Dancing With the Stars when the remaining contestants pay tribute to the most important people in their lives for Dedication Night. Julia Stiles will be performing a contemporary dance to Frankie Valli‘s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” in honor of her late 10 Things I Hate About You costar, Heath Ledger.
Stiles and Ledger played love interests in the beloved 1999 film. Nine years after its release, Ledger died from an accidental overdose at the age of 28.
“I really feel how important it is to honor him,” Stiles told People ahead of the performance. “He lives on because his performance in that film was so incredible.” But what exactly was the nature of Stiles and Ledger’s relationship off-camera before his death? Scroll down for more.
Did Juila Stiles date Heath Ledger?
Stiles and Ledger did not date IRL. Although there was some speculation that they had a romantic relationship due to commentary on the 10 Things I Hate About You DVD, the movie’s director, Gil Junger, revealed in 2021 that Stiles actually dated another costar from the movie offscreen: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
“She, for a minute or 10, went out with Joseph Gordon-Levitt,” Juner spilled. “They were very, very attracted to each other, which was cool.”
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He recalled Stiles filming the reading of the “10 Things” poem for the movie in one take. “It was so raw, and it was so honest, and it was so vulnerable,” Junger dished, “I even asked her, I said, ‘Where did that come from?’ And she told me, ‘I was just thinking about….’ [And she said]that person’s name that she was deeply in love with at the time.” He clarified, “It wasn’t me, certainly, but it wasn’t Heath either.”
Were Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger friends?
While Stiles and Ledger had an amicable relationship during filming, she admitted to Australia’s ABC in 2016 that they did not “keep in touch” after production wrapped.
“But when I heard about his death, I was incredibly sad, I was very shocked,” Stiles added. “He was such a force, such a vibrant person, right at the really exciting time of his life.”
In a recent interview with E!, Stiles only had fond memories to share about her former costar. “He was very kind and generous to me,” she confirmed. “Which, you know, when you’re an actress in your first leading role in a big studio movie, you need to feel comfortable with the other person. And he was very generous that way.”
Who is Julia Stiles’ husband?
More than a decade after 10 Things I Hate About You, Stiles met the man she eventually married: Preston J. Cook. They met in 2014 on the set of Blackway, which she starred in and he worked on as a second camera assistant.
Stiles and Cook got engaged in 2015 and tied the knot in September 2017. They welcomed their first child, son Strummer, the following month, followed by son Arlo in January 2022 and another child in 2023.
Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+
