6 Things You Didn’t Know About Anne Heche

For those of you born after the 90s, Anne Heche is a name that has most probably remained unscathed to you. However, this lady is very much worth knowing. Anne Heche lived a successful yet traumatic life that not very many people know about. This article will discuss six things you probably don’t know about Anne Heche.

She Had An Addiction

It’s no secret that actress Anne Heche had her share of struggles with drug addiction. In fact, she had been quite open about her battle with addiction and had even written a memoir about it. Heche first began using drugs when she was just a teenager. She started with marijuana but quickly progressed to harder drugs like cocaine and heroin. Her addiction spiraled out of control and led to a number of devastating consequences, including financial ruin, legal trouble, and estrangement from her family.

Thankfully, Heche was able to get her life back on track to become sober for many years up until the lead-up to her death. These previous addictions are significant with regard to the Anne Heche accident. As such issues can perhaps help to give a logical explanation to the strange series of events that occurred just before her death. Before Anne crashed her car into a Mar Vista home and sadly passed away from her injuries, the same situation had also occurred a week prior, with her crashing her car into a separate home. This caused the house to perish from the fire that shortly ensued after the crash. It seems Anne had a dark and codependent relationship with drugs. With such knowledge, we can only assume that her addictions to substance abuse were a driving factor towards her sudden death.

She Was Married To Ellen DeGeneres

You may or may not know, but Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres had a very public relationship back in the late 1990s. The two were together for three years before splitting up in 2000. Interestingly enough, their relationship was one of the first high-profile same-sex relationships in Hollywood. At the time, it was pretty groundbreaking stuff. Anne Heche met Ellen DeGeneres in 1997 when they worked together on the television sitcom Ellen. The two hit it off immediately and began dating shortly after. In August of that year, Ellen came out publicly as a lesbian on The Oprah Winfrey Show. This made Anne Heche the first mainstream Hollywood actress to date an openly gay person.

The couple was relatively open about their relationship, and they were even featured on the cover of Time magazine in April 1998. They were one of the first celebrity couples to really put a same-sex relationship in the spotlight. Unfortunately, their relationship wasn’t meant to last. In 2000, Anne Heche abruptly left Ellen DeGeneres for another woman. Just two days after breaking up with Ellen, Anne started dating a cameraman named Coleman Laffoon. The two got married just six months later. Needless to say, Ellen was pretty devastated by the whole thing. To this day, they remain known as one of the first iconic lesbian couples of the ’90s.

She Starred In Some Major Hollywood Movies

As far as successful Hollywood careers go, Anne seemed to be top of the game. Anne started out as a daytime soap opera actress. She appeared on another popular soap opera, General Hospital, before landing the role of Hayley Vaughn on Another World. She played Hayley for three years before leaving the show to pursue other opportunities. Anne’s first big break came in 1997 when she starred in the film Volcanoes opposite Tommy Lee Jones. The movie was a box office hit and helped to put Anne Heche on the map. From there, Anne went on to star in a string of successful films, including Donnie Brasco, Six Days Seven Nights, and Return to Paradise, to name a few!

She Was A Successful Author

Anne was not only a successful actress but also a published author. Her writing is just as engaging and entertaining as her acting was, which is one of the reasons why she was such a successful celebrity. Her writing includes the memoir ‘Call Me Crazy.’

She Was An Activist

Anne was also a thriving activist. She was involved in a number of charitable organizations over the years. Some of the organizations she has worked with include the AIDS Foundation, the American Red Cross, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

She Battled Mental Illness For Many Years

Anne had a hard life growing up, all of which is detailed in her memoir. When she was a child, her parents divorced, and her father remarried. Her stepmother sexually abused her. As a result of the abuse, Heche developed bulimia and suffered from depression. Although she was able to overcome the darkness of her past to have a successful career, Anne still struggled with mental health issues during the course of her adult life.

A Timeless Lady

To summarise, Anne was a successful Hollywood actress and author who still managed to have a thriving career whilst battling mental illness for many years. She was also an advocate for numerous charitable organizations. Anne’s sudden death came as a shock to many, especially given her accomplishments. It is suspected that her addictions to substance abuse were a catalyst towards her sudden death. Nonetheless, her contributions to not only the arts industry but to many charities, as well as the queer community, will be remembered for years and years to come.