A week ago, actress Anne Heche was hospitalized after being caught in multiple car crashes and was horribly burned. The actress, known for her appearances in movies like Volcano and I Know What You Did Last Summer, among other projects, slipped into a coma, and her family released a statement late last night saying that she was “not expected to survive.” That proved to be the case, as Heche has died at the age of 53.
Nancy Davis, Anne Heche’s friend, first broke the news on her Instagram page, and a representative for the actress’ family and friends confirmed her passing to People. It is worth noting that while Heche’s heart is still beating, she is described as being “brain dead,” and under California law, that’s considered to be legally dead. She remains on life support so that suitable recipients can be found for her organs. Heche is survived by her two sons. Per the statement from the aforementioned representative:
Today we 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. M
Born on May 25, 1969, Anne Heche began her professional acting career playing twins in the soap opera Another World (for which she won an Emmy Award), and this paved the way for her to appear in shows like Murphy Brown and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and movies like The Adventures of Huck Finn and Wild Side. 1997 was a particularly big year for Heche, as along with Volcano and I Know What You Did Last Summer, she also starred in Donnie Brasco, Wag the Dog and the TV film Subway Stories. Looking into the late ‘90s and 2000s, some of her notable credits included the Psycho remake, John Q., Ally McBeal and Everwood, as well as an episode of Ellen, the sitcom starred Heche’s girlfriend from 1997 to 2000, Ellen DeGeneres. DeGeneres publicly commented on Heche’s hospitalization yesterday, and James Tupper and Thomas Jane, two of her other former romantic partners, commented on what happened to her too.
As far as her more recent work goes, Anne Heche popped up in movies like My Friend Dahmer, The Last Word, The Vanished and 13 Minutes. Her final film role will be the posthumously-released Supercell, which co-stars Alec Baldwin and Skeet Ulrich, and doesn’t have an assigned release date yet. In the TV realm, Heche led short-lived TV shows like Aftermath and The Brave, as well as the 2015 miniseries Dig. Additionally, she recurred on Chicago P.D., All Rise and the yet-to-be-released HBO series The Idol, which stars Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd.
On Friday, August 5, Anne Heche crasher her blue Mini Cooper twice; the first into the garage of an apartment complex, and the second onto a house in a nearby neighborhood. The latter crash ignited a fire that engulfed both the house and Heche’s car, and it reportedly took firefighters over an hour to get the actress out of the vehicle, resulting in her being severely burned. Although Heche’s injuries weren’t initially described as life threatening, the actress’ representatives days later that she was in “critical condition” and remained in a coma. It was reported that Heche’s toxicology report showed that she had cocaine and fentanyl in her system, although it’s unclear if the latter substance was from immediately before the crash or if it was administered as a pain medication at the hospital.
We here at CinemaBlend express our condolences to Anne Heche’s family and friends during this difficult time.