A promising career full of ups and downs, Anne Heche's life was tragically cut short.
Right up until the end, everything about her was unpredictable.
Anne Heche was born in Aurora, Ohio, but considered herself a Jersey girl to her core.
Heche grew up poor and occasionally homeless, moving from place to place with her parents
and four siblings before finally landing in Ocean City.
It was in New Jersey where Heche discovered her talent for entertaining the masses.
Heche explained to Suburban Life in 2017,
"That's where I first became an actress.
I literally started singing for my supper, right on the Boardwalk.
I would flip burgers and sing show tunes…"
She went on to work at the 76 House Dinner Theater in Swainton, earning $100 a week to
help support her struggling family.
Heche later called California home, but New Jersey is where it all began.
Heche told Suburban Life,
"You could definitely say that New Jersey changed my life.
I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Jersey."
Anne Heche shared her sad upbringing with the world in several interviews and in her
2001 memoir, revealing that she endured sexual abuse by her father from a very early age
until she was about 12 years old.
She told Barbara Walters in 2001,
"I think it's always hard for children to talk about abuse because it is only memory.
I didn't carry around a tape recorder [...] Anybody can look and say, 'Well, how do you know for
sure?'
And that's one of the most painful things about it.
You don't."
Heche's allegations against her now-deceased father were never corroborated by her mother
or her siblings.
In 2015, Heche's mother and sister Abigail spoke out about the book on a now-defunct
website called Reader's Forum.
Heche's mother, Nancy, wrote,
"I am trying to find a place for myself in this writing, a place where I, as Anne's mother,
do not feel violated or scandalized."
Heche's father died from AIDS in 1983 when Heche was a teenager.
She spent the next couple of decades acting out to escape the years of pain she felt.
Heche shared with Walters,
"I drank.
I smoked.
I did drugs.
I had sex with people.
I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life."
It was during these years of chaos and shame that Heche experienced a break in reality,
spiraling into mental illness.
In a 2001 interview with The Advocate, Heche discussed the connection between her father's
mental illness and her own, saying,
"My father was doing things that are attributed to schizophrenia — big deals, delusions
of grandeur.
Which I also had, so I know there's a lot of connections with the insanity that I had
with my father."
To cope with her trauma, Heche created an alter ego who was the half-sister of Jesus
Christ.
"I called my other personality Celestia.
I called the other world I created for myself 'The Fourth Dimension.'"
She revealed in her interview with The Advocate,
"I created another entity that was from heaven.
Celestia is the reason I believe I survived.
She was the consistent love that allowed me to know that I could get to the other side
of my abuse."
Heche's mental health took center stage in 2000 following her split from Ellen DeGeneres.
Hours after DeGeneres released a statement announcing the breakup, Heche was found wandering
about, disoriented, in rural Fresno County, California.
Law enforcement told local television stations the actor might have been under the influence
of drugs.
Speculation regarding the incident was later put to rest by Heche herself in her 2001 interview
with Barbara Walters.
Heche revealed,
"I was told to go to a place where I would meet a spaceship.
I was told in order to get on the spaceship that I would have to take a hit of ecstasy.
Fresno was the culmination of a journey and a world that I thought I needed to escape
to in order to find love."
"I believed I was from that world.
I believed I was from another planet.
I think I was insane."
It is fair to say that when it came to romantic partners, Anne Heche didn't really have a
type.
Before marrying cameraman Coley Lafoon in 2001, Heche dated a couple of high-profile
names in Hollywood.
She dated Steve Martin from 1994 to 1997.
The two had a large age gap with him being 24 years her senior.
She also spent a year with Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac.
Buckingham even wrote a song about Heche called "Down on Rodeo".
Of course, her most famous relationship was the one she had with Ellen DeGeneres.
The two women met at a Vanity Fair Oscar Party in 1997 and were connected at the hip for
four years after that.
Heche told Oprah Winfrey that same year,
"I saw Ellen across a crowded room, not knowing anything at all, except how I just was drawn
to her."
Ellen and Anne split up in the year 2000.
Twenty years later, Heche told Mr. Warburton magazine,
"Our time was a beautiful part of my life and one that I wear with honor.
I was a part of a revolution that created social change, and I could not have done that
without falling in love with her."
"The thing about me is that I did everything so differently than anybody else that they
couldn't help but pay attention."
In Tinseltown, connections can make or break you.
And if you had asked Anne Heche, her four-year romance with Ellen DeGeneres broke her, resulting
in the actor being blacklisted from mainstream Hollywood.
Heche proudly invited DeGeneres to the premiere of "Volcano."
The year was 1997, and the world was far more closed-minded regarding same-sex romantic
involvements.
So closed-minded, in fact, that Heche was told to exit her own premiere because of who
she brought as a date.
The actor explained to Mr. Warburton in 2020,
"I was told by Fox Studio executives that if I brought Ellen to the premiere, my contract
would be terminated.
I brought Ellen despite those threats, and we were escorted out of the theater before
the lights came on by security and not allowed to attend the premiere party because they
did not want any photos of us together."
Heche revealed to Page Six in 2021 that following their very public appearance, she was wiped
clean from the film biz and, in her words, became "patient zero in cancel culture."
She explained,
"I didn't do a studio picture for ten years.
I was fired from a $10 million picture deal…"
"I got kicked out of my own movie premiere because they didn't want to get pictures of
me with a woman."
In Heche's view, she suddenly wore the scarlet letter, no longer desirable by her industry.
Still, a few notable names thought Heche had much to offer and stood by her side.
Harrison Ford had been discussing "Six Days, Seven Nights" with Heche before Heche and
DeGeneres' controversial movie premiere appearance.
He made it crystal clear to her that regardless of how others felt, he was sure she was right
for the part.
He told Heche he didn't care who she loved and was sure they would make a fantastic romantic
comedy together.
Heche was positive Ford's intervention on her behalf was why she got the role.
Heche told Entertainment Tonight in 2020 that Ford was her "hero," and she wouldn't have
landed the role without him.
Alec Baldwin also went to bat for Heche and pushed her forward for the Broadway project,
"Twentieth Century," which earned Heche a Tony Award nod.
Years later, Baldwin remained in Heche's corner and spoke out via Instagram, wishing her well
after her 2022 car accident.
Anne Heche and Coley Lafoon welcomed a son together in 2002, and later went through a
difficult divorce, which was finalized in 2009.
Never one to mince her words, Heche told the world what she thought of her ex when she
went on "The Late Show," asking David Letterman,
"Can you say 'lazyass' on TV?"
The couple battled in court several times over custody and compensation issues, with
Heche fronting much of the financial support for their son.
According to People, Heche paid Lafoon a hefty lump sum, provided him with a $3,700 per month
stipend, and paid for 75% of their son Homer's private education.
It was an ugly split.
Heche was adamant that Lafoon paid more attention to online poker and porn, and he thought Heche
was mentally unstable.
People reports that Lafoon claimed the actor lied to gain custody and broke their parenting
agreement.
Lafoon went on to wed again in 2015 and welcomed three more children with his second wife,
and Heche found herself in a committed relationship with her "Men in Trees" co-star and second
son Atlas's father, James Tupper.
Heche and Tupper were together for the better part of a decade before parting ways.
In 1961, Anne Heche's sister Cynthia died in infancy from a heart defect.
She also lost a brother, Nathan, in a motorcycle accident three months after her father died
from AIDS.
Nathan's death was ruled an accident, but Heche has made claims that he took his life.
His tragic passing marked a new chapter for Anne with a move to Chicago, and she discussed
this pivotal moment during a reading with "Hollywood Medium" star Tyler Henry.
"He acknowledges total peace and is free of all the emotions and difficulty."
"Okay."
Anne's sister Susan died in 2006 from brain cancer, leaving only sister Abigail alive.
While Anne had been vocal about the alleged abuse she suffered at the hands of her father,
her sister Abigail said otherwise, claiming the incidents didn't happen.
She posted on Reader's Forum,
"It is my opinion that my sister Anne truly believes, at this moment, what she has asserted
about our father's past behavior.
[...] Based on my experience and her own expressed doubts, I believe that her memories regarding
our father are untrue."
In August 2022, the world was stunned to hear that Anne Heche had been involved in a devastating
car accident, crashing into a home and becoming trapped inside her vehicle.
Emergency crews worked to extract Heche from her burning car, and she was transported to
a medical facility where she slipped into a coma.
Many former partners and entertainment community members expressed well wishes and hopes for
a full recovery.
Sadly, the accident proved too much for the actor to overcome, and she died at the age
of 53.
Heche's rep said in a statement to People, in part,
"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."
In 2017, Heche told "Access Hollywood" what she wanted to be remembered for upon her death:
"That I made my children happy and gave them a life that they loved."
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI
(6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.