Heath Ledger's daughter 'is not a celebrity'

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A day after Heath Ledger won a posthumous Oscar, a US judge has moved to protect the actor's three-year-old daughter, Matilda, from public scrutiny.

"She is not a celebrity," Superior Court Judge Luis A Lavin declared in his downtown Los Angeles courtroom.

"She is a minor child."

Judge Lavin made the ruling after lawyers for Matilda's trust and Minneapolis-based life insurance company ReliaStar announced in court they had reached an agreement to settle a lawsuit involving a $US10 million life insurance policy the Australian actor took out seven months before his death.

Matilda is the benefactor.

The lawyers asked for the details of the settlement, including the amount Matilda will receive, to be sealed.

Judge Lavin agreed it should be kept confidential, noting that while Ledger may have been a celebrity and won an Oscar the night before, Matilda was just three-years old and had "a right to privacy".

"The motion is granted," the judge said.

Last year the lawyer representing Matilda's trust, William Shernoff, threatened to sue Reliastar for emotional distress inflicted on Ledger's loved ones when the company baulked at paying out the $US10 million policy.

The company had planned to investigate if the 28-year-old star of The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain committed suicide.

This was despite an autopsy by the New York Medical Examiner's Office ruling his January 22, 2008, death an accidental overdose.

The autopsy found Ledger consumed a deadly cocktail of prescription painkillers and sleeping pills, including OxyContin, Vicodin, Valium and Xanax, but because there was a small dose of each drug in his
system and no other evidence, it was not ruled a suicide.

Outside court ReliaStar lawyer Margaret Levy said the company was pleased the case was settled "amicably" and Matilda would be protected from public scrutiny.

"We think that's great that she will be protected," Levy said.

Judge Lavin adjourned the case to March 13.

Ledger won the best supporting actor Oscar on Sunday night for his performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

His father Kim, mother Sally and sister Kate accepted the award and confirmed Matilda could legally sign for ownership of the Oscar when she turned 18.

The Ledgers praised Matilda's mother, actress Michelle Williams, for the way she was raising the toddler.

"We're very close with Michelle," Kim said.

"She's doing an amazing job with Matilda, and we speak all the time so we're in constant contact and always will be."

- AAP