American actress Anne Heche has died a week after being seriously injured in a car accident.
The news was confirmed by a representative of her family to US online media TMZ, who said in a statement: “We have lost a bright light, a caring and most joyous soul, a loving mother and a faithful friend.
“Anne will be sorely missed, but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic work and her passionate advocacy. Her bravery to always stand in her truth, spread her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have an impact sustainable.
Friday afternoon, representatives of Heche, 53, confirmed she was “brain dead,” which, according to California law, is the definition of death. It was announced earlier today that Heche would be removed from life support. It is understood that his heart rate was maintained in case a suitable organ donation could take place.
On Friday evening, Heche’s eldest son, Homer, 20, released a statement on behalf of himself and his half-brother, Atlas, 13.
“My brother Atlas and I lost our mom,” he told People. “After six days of almost unbelievable emotional swings, I am left with a deep, wordless sadness. I hope my mother is free from pain and begins to explore what I like to imagine as her eternal freedom.
He added, “Over these six days, thousands of friends, family members and fans have let me know their hearts. I am grateful for their love, as I am for the support of my father, Coley, and my stepmother Alexi who continue to be my rock during this time.
“Rest in peace mom, I love you,” concluded Homer Heche.
Earlier Friday, a friend of the actor, Nancy Davis, wrote on Instagram, “Heaven has a new angel. My loving, kind, fun, endearing and beautiful friend @anneheche has gone to heaven. I will miss her terribly and will cherish all the beautiful memories we shared.
“Anne has always been the kindest, most caring person who has always brought out the best in me… My heart is broken.”
Heche’s former partner, Ellen DeGeneres, wrote on Twitter: “It’s a sad day. I send Anne’s children, family and friends all my love.
“Rest in peace now Anne,” tweeted actress Patricia Arquette. “Anne Heche was an extremely talented actress who endured more horror than anyone should have,” added respected film historian Mark Harris on Twitter. Harris linked to a 2009 profile of the actor, which detailed his traumatic childhood. “She deserves to be remembered with compassion.”
Many had hoped Heche would recover after a publicist for the actor reported her in “stable” condition after crashing her car into a Los Angeles home on August 5. Firefighters said she spoke to them as she was freed from the wreckage and taken to hospital.
But the actor lost consciousness soon after, and on August 8, reps issued an update, saying Heche was in an “extremely critical condition” and had slipped into a coma. Her family said in a statement on Friday that she was not expected to survive and was being kept on life support to determine if her organs could be donated.
Heche, a sharp-witted actor, rose to prominence in the early 1990s, playing twins in the soap opera Another World and with film roles, including as Catherine Keener’s sister in the feature debut of Nicole Holofcener, Walking and Talking.
Her first major role was as Johnny Depp’s girlfriend in the gangster drama Donnie Brasco (1997). That same year, she was cast in other enduring titles: the political satire Wag the Dog, the disaster flick Volcano, and the slasher classic I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Also that same year, Heche began a high-profile relationship with sitcom star and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, shortly after the comedian came out as gay. The couple had been together for three years; Heche expressed his gratitude to Harrison Ford who continued producing the romance Six Days, Seven Nights, despite the homophobic backlash from Heche’s real-life relationship.
In 1998, she starred as Marion Crane in Gus van Sant’s blow-for-blow revisionist remake of Hitchcock’s Psycho, then averaged one film a year for the next decade, choosing creative and ambitious projects to juggle. parental responsibilities.
She played Nicole Kidman’s sister in Jonathan Glazer’s psychological drama Birth and Ashton Kutcher’s girlfriend in comedy scam Spread. In 2011, she starred in the award-winning indie comedy Cedar Rapids and played corrupt cop Woody Harrelson’s ex-wife in Rampart.
Recent key film roles include the mother of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer in a 2017 biopic, and as a rabid entertainer opposite Sandra Oh in the acclaimed 2016 dark comedy Catfight. Reviewing this film, Benjamin Lee of The Guardian called it “a rare comedy with something to say and a particularly ambitious structure that goes well beyond its limited budget.
“Both leads are excellent, with Heche in particular proving to be a welcome presence on the big screen, allowed to inhabit more than just a supporting character.”
She also participated in the 2020 season of the American show Dancing with the Stars.
In 2001, Heche published a memoir, Call Me Crazy, which details his turbulent upbringing as the youngest of five children in a family that moved 11 times during his childhood.
When Heche was 13, her father died of AIDS, which she said she contracted from same-sex partners. Heche also claimed that her father repeatedly raped her as a child, which led to her contracting genital herpes when she was young. Other members of his family disputed this claim.
Three months after their father’s death, Heche’s brother Nathan died in a car accident, which his sister called a suicide. Heche became estranged from her mother soon after.
In 2000, according to reports, Heche went to the desert and walked some distance to a stranger’s ranch where she asked to take a shower and then settled into the living room to watch a movie. .
The home’s occupant called the local sheriff after Heche showed no signs of leaving; the actor was briefly admitted to a psychiatric unit and admitted that she had taken ecstasy. In her book, Heche says she was “crazy” for the first 31 years of her life due to the abuse she said she suffered from her father.
Promoting the memoir, Heche said that in the past, she retreated for safety into an alter ego: Christ’s half-sister who had contact with extraterrestrial life forms.
In 2001, Heche married cameraman Coleman Laffoon, with whom she had Homer. The marriage ended in divorce, and in 2009 Heche had another son, Atlas, with her Men in Trees co-star James Tupper.
