Actor Anne Heche Declared 'Brain-Dead' A Week After Fiery Car Accident

Hollywood actor Anne Heche has been declared legally dead, one week after she crashed her car into a Los Angeles building, a spokeswoman said. Heche, 53, had been comatose in hospital with a severe brain injury since the fiery collision on August 5.

Having lost all brain function, she is "legally dead according to California law," though her heart is still beating as her family keeps her body on life support while exploring organ donations, spokeswoman Holly Baird told Agence France Presse.

"Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend," the family said in a joint statement.

The late actor's estate is being sued by the woman who was living in the home destroyed by Heche's car during the crash that took her life. Heche was behind the wheel when her car slammed into a two-story home and sparked a house fire.

The woman living inside the home, Lynne Mishele is suing Heche's estate for negligence, infliction of emotional distress and trespassing. The lawsuit alleges that her personal property was destroyed, along with her possessions, business papers, laptop, iPad, and other personal items.

Anne Heche Dies

It was announced earlier in the day Heche would be taken off life support. It is understood her heartbeat was being maintained in case an appropriate organ donation could take place.

Heche first rose to fame on the soap opera Another World, where she played the dual role of twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love from 1987 to 1991 and earned a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance. She followed that with roles in films like Donnie Brasco, Six Days Seven Nights, and Wag the Dog.

She has also appeared in numerous television series more recently, including The Brave, Quantico, and Chicago P.D.

The actor has spoken publicly about her troubles with substance abuse.

“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,” she told ABC News in 2020.

The actress, who dated Ellen DeGeneres in the 90s before marrying cameraman Coleman Laffoon and dating actor James Tupper, said she turned to booze and drugs to deal with the trauma of being sexually abused by her father, Donald Heche.

Her romantic relationship with DeGeneres in the late ’90s resulted in intense media attention at the time, much to Heche’s professional frustration. In a 2021 interview with Page Six, Heche said she felt “blacklisted” after going public with their relationship.

Heche’s former partner, Ellen DeGeneres, wrote on Twitter: “This is a sad day. I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.”

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