Emma Watson

Elizabeth Montgomery

The 2006 Academy Award nominee Heath Ledger has died in NY.

He was found dead in his bed in one of his residences in Soho by his housekeeper at 3:35 PM ET today.

The 28-year-old actor has a two year old daughter with former fiancee Michelle Williams — they separated in September, 2007. He plays the Joker in the upcoming Batman film, “The Dark Knight.”

The NY Times is reporting a masseuse arrived at his apartment and was let in the door by a housekeeper, who then knocked on the door of Mr. Ledger’s bedroom. When no one answered, the housekeeper and the masseuse opened the bedroom and found Mr. Ledger unconscious. They shook him, but he did not respond. They immediately called the authorities. The police said they found pills near body.

From Lindsay Lohan to Britney Spears, Hollywood teems with stars and their dust-ups. But today’s Tinseltown may not have more scandal, just more cameras.

The reality is this: Hollywood has long been home to mishaps from drugs to marital affairs, but its stars never before faced the kind of media scrutiny they do today. With six celebrity weeklies, five national nightly entertainment shows and a blogosphere heavy on celebrity content, the roller coaster lives of the A-list have morphed into a can’t-miss soap opera for a massive audience.

In Pictures: The Year’s Biggest Celebrity Meltdowns

Once you’re in Hollywood’s A-list earnings club, it’s hard to get kicked out, no matter how badly your films perform at the box office.

Case in point: Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. She earned an estimated $15 million for her latest film, “The Golden Compass,” known around the studio lot these days as the biggest turkey of 2007. It grossed a dreary $26 million this weekend, though its reported budget flirted with the $200 million mark. (That’s “Harry Potter” and “Lord of the Rings” territory.)

“The Golden Compass” isn’t a one-off for Kidman. In fact, its her fourth big box office dud. For every dollar she was paid for her last three films (excluding “Compass” and “Margot at the Wedding”), her flicks returned a measly $8 on average to the studios. Compare that with less expensive A-listers like Angelina Jolie, whose rate skirts $10 million a picture, and whose last three films grossed $15 on average for every dollar she earned.

In Pictures: The Most Overpaid Celebrities

Yahoo! Movies has compiled a nice pictorial of the 25 worst hairstyles in movies. Funny stuff. Here’s a preview.

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