Members of Heath Ledger’s family claim he may have secretly fathered a love child.

Australia’s Daily Telegraph reports the Aussie star was a 17-year-old schoolboy when he had an affair with an older woman.

The mother - in a relationship with another man at the time - is thought to have only learned she was pregnant after the affair with Heath ended.

Heath’s uncle, Haydn Ledger, yesterday confirmed there was a “real possibility” his nephew had fathered a girl with the woman.

If it’s confirmed that Heath was the girl’s biological father, it could split his multi-million-dollar fortune between his two-year-old daughter Matilda Rose, his former partner Michelle Williams, and his secret love child.