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.”
Fans call Goldie Hawn, 78, “ugly” in swimsuit photos, Kurt Russell defends her, says she’s beautiful
With an unwavering sense of confidence, Goldie Hawn consistently dazzles her fans with grace, even in the face of online negativity. The actress acknowledges the realities of aging in Hollywood but remains unfazed by trolls and their hurtful remarks.
As one of Hollywood’s most beloved figures, Goldie, alongside her partner Kurt Russell, exudes a resilience that comes from decades in the spotlight. Delve deeper into why Goldie Hawn faces criticism online as we explore her remarkable journey!
Goldie Hawn stands as a formidable matriarch of a renowned acting dynasty, including Oliver (47), Kate Hudson (45), and Wyatt Russell (37). Her down-to-earth charm has secured her iconic roles in films such as “Private Benjamin” (1980), “Overboard” (1987) alongside Kurt Russell, her partner since 1983, and Steven Spielberg’s “The Sugarland Express” (1972).
Before meeting Russell, Goldie navigated through two divorces, opting to skip marriage with Russell in favor of a committed partnership. As she told Woman’s Day in 2007: “We’ve done perfectly fine without getting married. I feel committed already, isn’t that the essence of marriage?”
Kate Hudson, herself a Golden Globe nominee, praises their union, describing them as a perfect match. “Mom is a free spirit, always on the move, while Kurt cherishes his home and family”, she shared. “When they’re together, it’s a powerful dynamic”, she added, referring to their actor son and their strong family bond.
Goldie Hawn, with her trademark golden locks and enduring charm, remains radiant after over five decades in the limelight, embracing the natural process of aging. “Aging is part of life. Embracing it fully means recognizing life’s continuous transformations”, she shared with People. “Growing older? It means you’re still alive!”
Despite her positive outlook, Goldie Hawn acknowledges the ageism entrenched in Hollywood. “Women will always fight this battle”, she remarked to Bazaar. “You don’t expect Hollywood to embrace you when you hit forty-five and show them you’re still desirable and marketable. It’s a specific world”, she added, remaining unfazed by the industry’s narrow standards.
Though she embraces her age gracefully, Goldie Hawn isn’t immune to the onslaught of online abuse. Even during their idyllic 2022 getaway to Greece, where photos showed them enjoying the sun and sea, the internet wasn’t always kind. Critics criticized their appearance, dismissing their enduring love and confidence as they age gracefully.
Despite the negativity, many fans rallied around the couple, especially after their endearing appearances together in films like “The Christmas Chronicles,” where they portrayed Mr. and Mrs. Claus. “They look amazing! There will always be trolls, but their love shines through”, defended one supportive fan.
Goldie’s lifelong companion, Kurt Russell, has always been her staunchest supporter. Recalling their Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2017, where they received stars side by side, he declared his love publicly: “Goldie, I owe my incredible life to you. There’s no one else I’d rather be next to”, he affirmed, encapsulating their enduring bond.
At 78, Goldie Hawn continues to captivate and inspire, navigating fame and aging with grace. Share this story and let us know your thoughts.
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