Her death, at a hospital in Los Angeles, was confirmed by her publicist Holly Baird. Ms. Heche had been hospitalized after driving her vehicle into a house in the city’s Mar Vista neighborhood on Aug. 5. The car was engulfed in flames, and she was pulled from the vehicle with severe burns. According to a statement one of her representatives released Friday, she suffered a severe anoxic brain injury and was declared brain dead, and was kept on life support so that her organs could be donated.
An initial blood test found narcotics in her system, Los Angles police spokesman Tony Im told The Washington Post on Thursday night, but a full toxicology report was pending to determine if any substance was related to medical treatments.
Ms. Heche (pronounced “haysh”) first gained acclaim 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 tightly wound presidential staffer in the political satire “Wag the Dog,” with Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, later that same year. She often used her wispy and sprite-like look to contrast the sharp edges of her dramatic characters and as a comedic asset while taking quirky roles in rom-coms and other films.
Her breakthrough came with leading parts in several films released in 1998, including “Six Days Seven Nights,” in which she played a New York journalist 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 circling the drain, gained 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 in the ABC sitcom “Ellen,” became public just as “Six Days” began shooting — although she praised Ford for standing by her and ensuring that she remained in the cast.
She insisted that opportunities for leading roles began to dry up because of 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 cancel culture.” DeGeneres’s “Ellen” was dropped after the show’s character — and the real DeGeneres — came out as gay. Advertisers fled, ratings slumped and DeGeneres went on to host “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” a long-running talk and variety program.
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 U.S. 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 legalized the partnership, but they ended their relationship the next year. Ms. Heche went on 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 could not have done that without falling in love with [DeGeneres].”
Ms. Heche at times made headlines for erratic…
Read More: Anne Heche, wide-ranging actress, dies at 53 after car crash
