Anne Heche is the star of Six Days, Seven Nights Donnie Brasco, Wag the DogShe was a Daytime Emmy-winning actress in TV, who was equally at home in all types of dramas, sitcoms, and romantic comedies. She was 53.
Heche was declared brain dead after her August 5 car accident in Los Angeles. She had been placed on a ventilator and her heart beat continued to beat so that she could be evaluated for organ donor. Multiple organs were to be harvested today.
“Anne Heche has been peacefully taken off life support,”Reps for the actor spoke Sunday evening.
Heche sustained serious injuries when her car crashed into a curb, and then crashed into a West L.A. home. It burst into flames. In critical condition, she was rushed to hospital. Following tests that failed to detect brain activity earlier in the week, Heche’s family made the difficult decision on Thursday to remove her from life support. If a match was found, any viable organs could then be donated.
Her family and friends released the following statement on Friday:
“We have lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend. Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”
Photo Gallery: Anne Heche’s Film & TV Career
Heche was first recognized nationally when she played twins Victoria “Vicky” Carson and Marley Love on NBC’s soap Another WorldFrom 1987 to 1991, she played roles that won her the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in 1991. She was also nominated in 1989. She then won praise opposite Catherine Keener in Nicole Hofcenter’s buzzy indie film Walking and talking.
By the late ‘90s, Heche had graduated to studio projects opposite A-list co-stars such as Johnny Depp in Donnie BrascoTommy Lee Jones VolcanoDustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro Wag the DogHarrison Ford Six Days, Seven Nights
Still, Heche said leading roles weren’t the be-all, end-all of her professional ambitions.
“My goal has always been to play different parts, to change around a lot, to be a character actress,” She spoke out1998 was the year before the release Six Days, Seven NightsIt was able to generate $164.9 Million worldwide.
Heche was able to show multi-episode episodes on the small screen. Everwood, Ally McBeal And Nip/TuckIn the early 2000s. She was a part of the 2004 Lifetime TelepicGracie’s ChoiceHeche was nominated for a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress on a Miniseries or Movie.
For her roles in the movie “The Hunger Games,” she was awarded the National Board of Review Award for Supporting Actress.Wag the Dog And Donnie Brasco. She received GLAAD’s Stephen F. Kolzak Award, which is given to an openly LGBT member of the entertainment or media community for their work toward eliminating homophobia.
Heche was equally at home in Broadway, where she starred. You can see the proofFrom 2000 to 2002. Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn today called Heche’s work in that production “Honest to God, I think maybe the best acting performance I’ve ever seen in my life.”She also appeared in Twentieth Century2004
Honest to God, I think maybe the best acting performance I’ve ever seen in my life was Anne Heche in PROOF on Broadway. #RIP
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) August 12, 2022
When she dated Ellen DeGeneres between 1997 and 2000, her personal life was put under the microscope. She was later married to Coleman “Coley”Laffoon 2001-07. They had one child together, Homer. Later, she had a second child, Atlas, with her husband. Men in Treesco-star James Tupper, from whom she split in 2018.
Homer, 20, also expressed his sadness at his mother’s passing today in a statement.
“My brother Atlas and I lost our Mom,”He stated. “After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. Hopefully my mom is free from pain and beginning to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.”
He continued: “Over those six days, thousands of friends, family, and fans made their hearts known to me. I am grateful to them as well as my stepmom Alexi and my Dad Coley for being my rock through this difficult time.
“Rest In Peace Mom, I love you,”He added.
Heche openedly spoke out about her personal struggles.
After wandering in the desert near Fresno, CA in 2000, she was taken to a psychiatric ward at a local hospital. She was soon released. Promoting her memoir Call Me CrazyHeche spoke out about her mental health, growing up with chaos in her family, and the childhood sexual abuse she suffered at the hands her father (who died in 1985).
“I think the main thing I learned from my upbringing is that pain can be transformed into joy,” Heche:1998 “If I could get through that pain and be as joyous as I am now, I’m an example of just how anything difficult can become pleasurable.”
This past June, Heche signed on to Lifetime’s Girl in 13th RoomThe film, which will premiere in the fall, is called. She was also set to star opposite Dermot Mulroney in Full Ride, an upcoming horror-thriller, and was to recur inAll Riseon OWN. Heche most recently starred in the Peter Facinelli-directed psychological thrillerThe Vanishedfor Netflix, as well as Quiver’s tornado thriller13 minutes.
Heche’s professional acting debut was at the age of 12 in a production of a dinner theater. The Music Man. For her, getting the job was about necessity as well as art. She was the fifth of five children, and her family had already moved eleven times in as many decades.
“At the time we’d been kicked out of our house and my family was holed up living in a bedroom in the home of a generous family from our church,” She remembered. “I got $100 a week, which was more than anyone else in my family. We all pooled our money in an envelope in a drawer and saved up enough to move out after a year.”
Heche also discovered that acting can have an emotional payoff.
“I found heaven on that stage,”She said. “I’d been given an opportunity to experience a life and a joy that was not in my family.”