--- title: Michelle Williams Opens Up About Grief and Motherhood description: The Oscar-nominated actress appears in a new drama, 'Manchester by the Sea,' in which she plays another woman dealing with loss. canonical: https://time.com/4584835/michelle-williams-opens-up-about-on-heath-ledger/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-29T16:26:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:38:59.981Z og:title: Michelle Williams Opens Up About Grief and Motherhood og:description: The Oscar-nominated actress is in a new drama, 'Manchester by the Sea.' og:url: https://time.com/4584835/michelle-williams-opens-up-about-on-heath-ledger/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f9b8a630c8770c/6988afed196cf48b7603e1fb/michelle-williams-manchester.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Premiere Of Amazon Studios' "Manchester By The Sea" - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Michelle Williams Opens Up About Grief and Motherhood twitter:description: The Oscar-nominated actress is in a new drama, 'Manchester by the Sea.' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16f9b8a630c8770c/6988afed196cf48b7603e1fb/michelle-williams-manchester.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Michelle Williams Opens Up About Parenting Without Heath Ledger > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement.  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 29, 2016 4:26 PM UTC  Actress Michelle Williams attends the premiere of "Manchester by the Sea" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 14, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Actress Michelle Williams attends the premiere of "Manchester by the Sea" at Samuel Goldwyn Theater on November 14, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. Jason LaVeris—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Nov 29, 2016 4:26 PM UTC It’s been nearly eight years since Heath Ledger’s [tragic death](http://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1705981,00.html?iid=sr-link1), but ex-wife (and mother of their 11-year-old daughter, Matilda) [Michelle Williams](http://time.com/3785932/great-performance-michelle-williams/?iid=sr-link10) has remained a successful parent and [Oscar-nominated actress](http://content.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,754369828001%5F2043549,00.html?iid=sr-link5) on her own. In a recent interview with [Porter magazine](https://www.net-a-porter.com/Content/portermagazine?cm%5Fmmc=LinkshareUS-%5F-TnL5HPStwNw-%5F-Custom-%5F-LinkBuilder&siteID=TnL5HPStwNw-uUN20ERhivzCykN43pmVwA), Williams shed a little insight into motherhood during the grieving process — as seen through the [lens of her character](http://time.com/4549389/michelle-williams-interview-manchester-by-the-sea/?iid=sr-link1) in the critically acclaimed new drama [_Manchester by the Sea._](http://time.com/4575255/manchester-by-the-sea-movie-review/?iid=sr-link1) “It’s like the darkest part of your heart, something happening to your child … She’s making a brave choice, moment by moment, hour by hour, day by day,” [Williams explains](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michelle-williams-will-never-accept-raising-her-daughter-without-heath-ledger%5Fus%5F583c87b3e4b04b66c01b377c) of her character’s drive to reclaim her life after loss. “Because it is a choice. I would exit,” she said. “It would be so much easier than living with the loss.” (In the movie, Williams’s character Mia becomes estranged from main actor Casey Affleck.) “In all honesty, for pretty much everything else, I feel like I’m a believer in not fighting circumstances, accepting where you are and where you’ve been,” she [told the fashion magazine](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michelle-williams-will-never-accept-raising-her-daughter-without-heath-ledger%5Fus%5F583c87b3e4b04b66c01b377c). “I would be able to go totally down that line of thinking were it not for Matilda not having her dad… I mean, it just won’t ever be right.” Williams also shared a tender moment realizing her daughter was growing up happily. “Not only are we OK, she’s happy. 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