Anne Heche has died of a brain injury and severe burns after speeding and crashing her car into a home in the residential Mar Vista neighborhood last Friday, Aug 5. The building erupted in flames and Heche was dragged out of the vehicle and rushed to the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles.
The 53-year-old, Emmy Award-winning actress is best known for her roles in 1990s films like Volcano, the Gus Van Sant remake of Psycho, Donnie Brasco and Six Days, Seven Nights.
Holly Baird, a spokesperson for Heche’s family, sent NPR a statement Friday afternoon saying: “While Anne is legally dead according to California law, her heart is still beating, and she has not been taken off life support.”
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Baird added an organ procurement company is working to see if the actress is a match for organ donation, and that determination could be made as early as Saturday or as late as next Tuesday.
Heche launched her career playing a pair of good and evil twins on the long-running daytime soap opera Another World, for which she earned a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991.
In the 2000s, Heche focused on making independent movies and TV series. She acted with Nicole Kidman and Cameron Bright in the drama Birth; with Jessica Lange and Christina Ricci in the film adaptation of Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel’s bestselling book about depression; and in the comedy Cedar Rapids alongside John C. Reilly and Ed Helms. She also starred in the ABC drama series Men in Trees.
Heche made guest appearances on TV shows like Nip/Tuck and Ally McBeal and starred in a couple of Broadway productions, garnering a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the remount of the 1932 comedy Twentieth Century.
In 2020, Heche launched a weekly lifestyle podcast, Better Together, with friend and co-host Heather Duffy and appeared on Dancing with the Stars.
Heche became a lesbian icon as a result of her highly-visible relationship with comedian and TV host Ellen DeGeneres in the late 1990s.
Heche and DeGeneres were arguably the most famous openly gay couple in Hollywood at a time when being out was far less acceptable than it is today. Heche later claimed the romance took a toll on her career. “I was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres for three-and-a-half years and the stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that I was fired from my multimillion-dollar picture deal and I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years,” Heche said in an episode of Dancing with the Stars.
But the relationship paved the way for broader acceptance of single-sex partnerships.
“With so few role models and representations of lesbians in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Anne Heche’s relationship with Ellen DeGeneres contributed to her celebrity in a significant way and their relationship ultimately validated lesbian love for both straight and queer people,” said the Los Angeles-based New York Times columnist Trish Bendix.
Bendix said that while Heche was later in relationships with men — she married Coleman Laffoon in the early 2000s and they had a son together, and was more recently in a relationship with Canadian actor James Tupper with whom she also had a son — “her influence on lesbian and bisexual visibility can’t and shouldn’t be erased.”
In 2000, Fresh Air host Terry Gross interviewed Heche in advance of her directorial debut on the final episode of If These Walls Could Talk 2, a series of three HBO television films exploring the lives of lesbian couples starring DeGeneres and Sharon Stone. In the interview, Heche said she wished she had been more sensitive about other people’s coming out experiences when she and DeGeneres went public with their relationship.
“What I wish I would have known is more of the journey and the struggle of individuals in the gay community or couples in the gay community,” Heche said. “Because I would have couched my enthusiasm with an understanding that this isn’t everybody’s story.”
Heche was born in Aurora, Ohio in 1969, the youngest of five siblings. She was raised in a Christian fundamentalist household.
She had a challenging childhood. The family moved around a lot. She said she believed her father, Donald, was a closeted gay man; he died in 1983 of HIV.
“He just couldn’t seem to settle down into a normal job, which, of course, we found out later, and as I understand it now, was because he had another life,” Heche told Gross on Fresh Air. “He wanted to be with men.”
A few months after her father died, Heche’s brother Nathan was killed in a car crash at the age of 18.
In her 2001 Memoir Call Me Crazy, and in subsequent interviews, Heche said her father abused her sexually as a child, triggering mental health issues which the actress said she carried with her for decades as an adult.
In an interview with the actress for Larry King Live, host Larry King called Heche’s book, “one of the most honest, outspoken, extraordinary autobiographies ever written by anyone in show business.”
“I am left with a deep, wordless sadness,” wrote Heche’s son with Lafoon, Homer, in a statement shared with NPR via Baird. “Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.”
I Discovered My Husband’s Affair with His Boss Through a Subtle Clue
David’s invitation to a lavish party at his boss’s mansion sparked excitement in Penelope. It felt like a perfect opportunity for them to reconnect. However, her enthusiasm wavered when she noticed a detail indicating that David had visited the mansion before, planting seeds of doubt in her mind. As hidden truths began to surface, Penelope faced the unsettling possibility of betrayal.
On an ordinary Thursday evening, Penelope was busy baking cookies for her energetic five-year-old, Derrick. The kitchen was filled with the delicious aroma of vanilla and chocolate, harmonizing with Derrick’s laughter as he painted a colorful masterpiece that vaguely resembled a dinosaur.
Just then, David entered, dressed sharply but with a weary demeanor. The sight of him stirred a mix of emotions within Penelope, once thrilling, now a reminder of their strained relationship.
After exchanging greetings, David revealed an exciting opportunity: an invitation to a birthday party hosted by his boss, Laura, at her extravagant mansion. Penelope felt a rush of hope. This could be a moment for them to reconnect and enjoy each other’s company, especially with a babysitter already arranged for Derrick.
When Friday night arrived, Penelope was awestruck by Laura’s mansion. The grand structure, complete with manicured gardens and twinkling lights, felt surreal. As they stepped inside, Penelope’s excitement quickly shifted when she borrowed David’s phone to check in with the babysitter and noticed it was connected to the mansion’s Wi-Fi. Confusion washed over her, why would David’s phone already be linked here if he claimed he’d never visited before?
Throughout the evening, Penelope’s discomfort grew. David mingled with colleagues, while she wandered aimlessly, increasingly anxious. When she overheard Laura’s husband mention that Laura would have the mansion to herself, an unsettling feeling crept in. David’s casual remark about working late that night felt ominous, igniting her suspicions further.
The following day, Penelope dropped off Derrick at school, heart heavy with unease. Determined to uncover the truth, she drove to David’s office but learned he had left early for a “personal matter”. Her gut told her something was off. She called him, and his dismissive response only intensified her fears.
Fueled by a mix of dread and determination, Penelope drove to Laura’s mansion. Confronted by Laura at the door, she insisted on seeing David. Ignoring Laura’s attempts to block her, Penelope stormed inside, driven by an urgent need for answers. When she found David hiding in the closet, guilt written all over his face, everything came crashing down.
Accusations flew, and as David stumbled through half-hearted explanations, Penelope’s anger bubbled over. The confrontation concluded with her declaration that it was over, leaving David behind as she exited the lavish house, heartbroken.
The drive home blurred into a haze of tears. Back at home, the weight of betrayal felt almost unbearable, yet she knew she had to be strong for Derrick. That evening, with Maria’s comforting presence, Penelope began to process the betrayal. Seeking support, she reached out to a lawyer and started therapy to rebuild her life.
Days turned into weeks as she focused on Derrick, ensuring he felt secure and loved. One night, as she tucked him in, his innocent question about her well-being reminded her of her resilience. Smiling through her tears, she reassured him, determined to embrace a new beginning for both of them.
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