Anne Heche, an actress whose roles ranged from a White House aide in “Wag the Dog” to a Bates motel stabbing victim in a “Psycho” remake, but who claimed she was “blacklisted” by major studio projects in the late 1990s, after she and Ellen DeGeneres began working as a same-sex celebrity couple, was taken off life support on August 14. It was 53. Her death, in a Los Angeles hospital, was confirmed by her publicist Holly Bird. Ms Heche had been hospitalized after driving her vehicle into a house in the city’s Mar Vista neighborhood on August 5. The car was engulfed in flames and he was pulled from the vehicle with serious burns. She suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and was declared brain dead and kept on life support so her organs could be donated, according to a statement from her representative released Friday. An initial blood test found drugs in her system, Los Angeles police spokesman Tony Im told The Washington Post Thursday night, but a full toxicology report was pending to determine if any substance was related to medical treatments. Ms. Heche (pronounced “haish”) first gained recognition in the 1990s in supporting roles such as the beleaguered wife of an undercover cop (played by Johnny Depp) in the 1997 crime drama “Donnie Brasco” and as a badly wounded presidential staffer in the political satire “Wag the Dog,” with Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, later that year. She often used her sharp, sprite-like gaze to contrast the sharp edges of her dramatic characters and as a comedic asset while landing quirky roles in rom-coms and other films. The family and friends of Anne Heche share their love, sorrow at her passing Her breakthrough came with starring roles in several films released in 1998, including “Six Days Seven Nights,” where she played a New York City reporter stranded on a deserted Pacific island with a small plane pilot (Harrison Ford) and the “Psycho”. in the role of embezzler Marion Crane, whose stabbing death in a shower, with blood circling the drain, earned her a place in Hollywood fame for Janet Leigh in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 original. Ms. Heche claimed the film industry turned its back on her after her relationship with DeGeneres, a comedian who starred on the ABC sitcom “Ellen,” went public just as filming began on “Six Days” — though she praised Ford for standing by her and making sure she stays in the cast. She insisted Lead opportunities began to dry up due to romance at a time when few gay celebrities felt comfortable discussing their sexuality openly. Ms. Heche, in a 2021 interview with the New York Post, said she felt like “patient zero in the cancellation culture.” DeGeneres’ “Ellen” was pulled after the show’s character — and the real DeGeneres — came out as gay. Advertisers fled, ratings fell, and DeGeneres went on to host “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a long-running talk and variety program. ‘Ellen made gay OK’: TV host celebrates 20th anniversary of sitcom episode Ms. Heche and DeGeneres attended the 1997 premiere of “Volcano,” in which Ms. Heche played a scientist trying to save Los Angeles from lava after a volcanic eruption. Ms Heche claimed executives from US distributor Fox advised them not to attend as a couple. They soon became sought-after stars for fundraisers and rallies for same-sex equality. Ms. Heche and DeGeneres announced plans in 1999 for a civil union in Vermont if the state legitimize cooperation, but they ended their relationship the following year. Mrs. Hetse continued to marry cameraman Coleman “Coley” Laffoon in 2001. They divorced in 2009. “I was part of a revolution that created a social change,” Ms. Heche told Mr. Warburton magazine in 2020, “and I couldn’t have done it without falling in love with her. [DeGeneres].” Ms. Heche has made headlines at times for erratic behavior she has attributed to psychological problems caused by her father, an organist and choirmaster, whom she accused of sexually abusing her. Ms Heche’s mother, Nancy, and her sister Abigail denied any such abuse took place. (Ms. Heche’s father died in 1983 of what she described as AIDS-related causes.) In August 2000, Ms. Heche wandered the desert outside of Fresno, California, reportedly wearing only a bra, shorts and sneakers, and ended up knocking on the door of a house. The police were eventually called, and Ms. Heche, according to KSEE television, offered a strange statement that included references to traveling to heaven in a spaceship. In her 2001 memoir, “Call Me Crazy,” she described creating alter egos, including a half-sister of Jesus Christ named “Celestia,” as a way to deal with her inner demons. On CNN’s “Larry King Live” in 2001, he said she felt “insane” for 31 years before finding “peace and balance”. Her therapist didn’t know about her struggles either, she said. “I was raised to always tell everyone that everything was fine,” she said, “and even though I was in therapy for years, I never told anyone that I had another personality. I never told anyone that I heard voices and talked to God. I never told anyone.” Anne Celeste Heche was born in Aurora, Ohio, on May 25, 1969, the youngest of five children in a family that, by Ms. Heche’s accounts, moved often and often scraped by with little money for rent and necessities. He told the Daily Telegraph that when he was 12, the family was forced to live for a time in a single room at the home of a member of their church in Ocean City, N.J. During that time, he got a job at a hamburger joint. stand on the sidewalk. “That’s where I first became an actor,” she told Suburban Life magazine. “I literally started singing for my dinner, right on the boardwalk. I was flipping burgers and singing tunes to get people to come to our booth.” After moving to Chicago as a teenager, an agent spotted Ms. Heche in a play at the Francis W. Parker School and asked to bring her to New York for daytime soap opera auditions. Her mother insisted she finish high school, Ms. Hetse recalls. The day after graduating, she landed a dual role on NBC’s “Another World,” playing identical twins Vicky Hudson (downtrodden) and Marley Love (upright) from 1987 to 1991. Ms. Heche has rarely been without a role or project since the 1990s, appearing in dozens of movies and TV shows and in several Broadway productions, including Alec Baldwin’s “Twentieth Century.” She was nominated for the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as the narcissistic and glamorous lady. He appeared in several independent films. In 2004, Ms. Heche played a supporting role in “Birth” alongside Nicole Kidman, about a woman who believes her dead husband is reincarnated as a 10-year-old boy. In the 2016 dark comedy “Catfight,” Ms. Heche and Sandra Oh portray adversaries locked in a lifetime of dirty tricks and grudge stoking. In addition to Ms. Heche’s mother and sister, survivors include a son, Homer, from her marriage to Laffoon and another son, Atlas, from a relationship with actor James Tupper. In a life marked by hardship, Ms. Heche expressed her abiding regret that she never had the opportunity to attend college. But she found satisfaction and fulfillment in her work. “My training ground in school was at the best acting school,” she said in an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in 2000. “There’s nothing better than working five days a week and being in front of the camera every day.” .
