A Los Angeles based palm reader claims she told Brokeback Mountain star Heath Ledger, who was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, that he was going to have a short troubled life.

The Australian actor, who died Tuesday of suspected overdose of sleeping pills, called on psychic Dame Darcy to read his fortune while he was staying at Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel and he asked her to tell him everything about his love life, contactmusic.com reports.

Darcy claims she noticed that Ledger's lifeline had "many cross hatches on it" and told him, "that it indicates trouble".

Speaking to a magazine she said: "I was concerned about him, because I could see that hard times were coming. Even though Heath was just nominated for an Oscar, he didn't ask me about his career at all. He seemed far more concerned about his love life.

"He really didn't care about awards or his fame. I'm really sorry to hear about his death - he was one of a very few genuine artists that I met in Hollywood. He was also a really nice guy."

Actor Heath Ledger found dead