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.”
“Finally, Her Real Face,” Jennifer Lopez’s Latest Appearance Sparks Mocking Comments
Jennifer Lopez, renowned for her timeless beauty and iconic style, recently stepped out in an appearance that stirred up reactions across the internet. Some people seized the opportunity to critique and compare her to the photos she posts on her social media.
Jennifer Lopez attended Paris Fashion Week with a one of a kind outfit.
J. Lo made a dazzling entrance at Paris Fashion Week, captivating onlookers with a one-of-a-kind ensemble that epitomized haute couture innovation. Adorned in a coat crafted from an astonishing 7,000 real rose petals, meticulously kept fresh and vibrant by a delicate infusion of sugar water, she embodied the epitome of natural elegance.
The actress and singer took to her social media to share a glimpse of her ethereal attire, crediting the visionary designer Daniel Roseberry for Schiaparelli Couture 2024 with its creation. In a world where fashion often blurs the lines between art and attire, J. Lo’s floral masterpiece stood as a testament to the boundless creativity and sheer spectacle of the couture realm.
J. Lo received criticism for her looks.
It’s disheartening to witness the rapid judgment that often pervades social media platforms, even towards individuals as esteemed as Jennifer Lopez. The viral video from Paris Fashion Week, capturing a candid moment, has become a platform for unsolicited criticism, with viewers dissecting J. Lo’s appearance.
Comments such as “Finally, her real face. She looks like everyone else,” and “Oops. You can see her wrinkly forehead,” highlight the pervasive culture of unrealistic beauty standards and the relentless pressure placed on women.
Some have questioned her consistent use of filters online, stating, “I don’t think people are upset about her aging naturally, it’s just that in every post she does, she uses a filter, and looks nothing like this. I think she’s beautiful no matter what, but she talks about empowerment, and women being strong, yet she uses a filter in every photo, and every video she ever does. She has no control over this video, that’s why you get to see her real face.”
While she has long been an advocate for empowerment and self-love, this incident serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by individuals in the public eye, where every moment is subject to public scrutiny and judgment.
Her fans came to the rescue in the comments.
In the wake of the viral video, a wave of support emerged from fans rallying behind the iconic star. Some took it upon themselves to defend J. Lo and her right to age gracefully, countering the harsh critiques with words of encouragement. Comments such as “This is what no Botox looks like, and it’s really okay!” and “J. Lo is aging beautifully. Did y’all forget that there ARE people in Hollywood who accept their age ?!” served as poignant reminders of the beauty in embracing natural aging processes.
Others chimed in, highlighting the societal pressures faced by older women, with remarks like “Love seeing comments from some 20-30-year-olds who have no idea the pressure older women are under. The signs of aging are coming for all of us, ladies. Don’t criticize others until you’ve been in their shoes.” These supportive voices underscored the importance of empathy and understanding in a world often fixated on unrealistic standards of beauty.
Demi Moore, the ageless beauty and Hollywood icon, has too once again left fans in awe with her latest jaw-dropping appearance. At 61, Moore defies all expectations as she stuns in a sheer dress that exudes confidence and allure.
Preview photo credit jlo / Instagram, jo_squillo / Instagram
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