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Anne Heche, an actress whose roles ranged from a stress-ball White House aide in “Wag the Dog” to a Bates Motel stabbing victim in a “Psycho” remake, but who claimed she was “blacklisted” from major studio projects in the late 1990s, after she and Ellen DeGeneres became a same-sex celebrity couple, they withdrew support vital on August 14. She was 53 years old.
His death, in a Los Angeles hospital, was confirmed by his publicist Holly Baird. 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 she was pulled from the vehicle with severe burns. According to a statement released Friday by one of her representatives, she suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and was declared brain dead, and was kept on life support so her organs could be donated.
An initial blood test found narcotics in his system, Los Angeles police spokesman Tony Im told The Washington Post Thursday night, but a full toxicology report was pending to determine if any substances were involved. with medical treatments.
Ms. Heche (pronounced “haysh”) first won acclaim in the 1990s in supporting roles as the beleaguered wife of an undercover cop (played by Johnny Depp) in the 1997 crime drama “Donnie Brasco” and as a staff heavily wounded president in the political satire “Wag the Dog,” with Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, later that year. He often used his slender, sprite-like appearance to contrast the sharp edges of his dramatic characters and as a comedic asset while playing quirky roles in romantic comedies and other films.
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Her breakthrough came with leading roles in several films released in 1998, including “Six Days Seven Nights,” in which she played a New York reporter stranded on a deserted Pacific island with a small plane pilot (Harrison Ford) and “Psycho”. in the role of embezzler Marion Crane, whose stabbing death in a shower, with blood covering the drain, won a place in Hollywood fame for Janet Leigh in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 original.
Ms. Heche claimed the film industry turned its back on him after his relationship with DeGeneres, a comedian who starred in the ABC sitcom “Ellen,” went public just as “Six Days” began shoot, though he praised Ford for standing by him and making sure he remained in the cast.
She insisted on this Opportunities for leading roles began to dry up due to the romance at a time when few celebrities who were gay felt comfortable openly discussing their sexuality. Ms. Heche, in a 2021 interview with the New York Post, said she felt like “patient zero in the cancellation culture.” DeGeneres’ “Ellen” was dropped after the show’s character, and the real DeGeneres, came out as gay. Advertisers fled, ratings plummeted, and DeGeneres moved on to host “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a long-running talk show and variety show.
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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 at US distributor Fox advised them not to attend as a couple. They soon became sought-after stars for fundraisers and demonstrations for same-sex equality.
Ms. Heche and DeGeneres announced plans in 1999 for a civil union in Vermont if the state legalized the association, but they ended their relationship the following year. Mrs. Heche continued to marry cameraman Coleman “Coley” Laffoon in 2001. They divorced in 2009.
“I was part of a revolution that created social change,” said Ms. Heche in Warburton magazine in 2020, “and I couldn’t have done this without falling in love with [DeGeneres]”.
Sometimes Ms. Heche made headlines for erratic behavior that she attributed to psychological problems caused by her father, an organist and choir leader whom she accused of sexually abusing her. The mother of Ms. Heche, Nancy, and Sister Abigail denied any abuse. (Ms. Heche’s father died in 1983 of what she described as AIDS-related causes.)
In August 2000, Ms. Heche wandered through the desert outside of Fresno, California, in just 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 television station KSEE, offered a rambling statement that included references to traveling the skies in a spaceship.
In his 2001 memoir, “Call Me Crazy,” he described creating alter egos, including a sister of Jesus Christ named “Celestia,” as a way to deal with his inner demons. On CNN’s “Larry King Live” in 2001, he said she felt “crazy” for 31 years before finding “peace and balance.” Not even her therapist knew about her struggles, 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 was hearing voices and I was talking to God. I never told anyone.”
Anne Celeste Heche was born in Aurora, Ohio, on May 25, 1969, and was the youngest of five children in a family that, by Ms. Heche’s accounts, moved frequently and often made ends meet money for rent and necessities.
She told the Daily Telegraph that when she was 12, the family was forced to live for a time in a single room at the home of a member of her church congregation in Ocean City, NJ. During this time, he found work in a hamburger joint. stop at the promenade.
“That’s where I first became an actress,” she explained to Suburban Life magazine. “I literally started singing for my dinner, right on the boardwalk. I was flipping burgers and singing show tunes to get people to come to our booth.”
After moving to Chicago as a teenager, an agent saw Ms. Heche in a play at the Francis W. Parker School and asked to take her to New York for daytime soap opera auditions. Her mother insisted she finish high school, Ms. Heche recalled.
A day after graduation, she landed a dual role on NBC’s “Another World” playing identical twins Vicky Hudson (left) and Marley Love (featured) from 1987 to 1991.
Ms. Heche has rarely been without a role or project since the 1990s, appearing in dozens of films and television shows and in several Broadway productions, including opposite Alec Baldwin in “Twentieth Century “. She was nominated for the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as the narcissistic, glamorous lead.
He appeared in many independent films. In 2004, Ms. Heche had a supporting role in “Birth” opposite 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 feuding rivals locked in a life of dirty tricks and settling grudges.
In addition to Mrs. 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 difficulties, Mrs. Heche expressed a lasting regret that he never had the opportunity to attend college. But he found satisfaction and fulfillment in his work.
“My school boot camp was at the best acting school,” he said in an interview on NPR’s “Fresh Air” in 2000. “There’s nothing better than working five days at the week and be in front of the camera every day.”