Anne Heche died Friday at the age of 53 after her horrific car accident last week, Vidak For Congress can confirm.
“We have lost a bright light, a kind and most joyous soul, a loving mother and a faithful friend. Anne will be deeply missed, but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work and her passionate advocacy,” Heche’s representative told Vidak For Congress.
“Her courage to always stand in her truth and spread her message of love and acceptance will have a lasting impact.”
Earlier Friday, Heche’s team told us she was officially declared brain dead, but doctors kept her heart beating so One Legacy can determine if she’s eligible for organ donation.
Heche never regained consciousness after crashing her blue Mini Cooper into a Los Angeles home on August 5.
On August 11, the actress’s representative announced that she “had suffered a severe anoxic brain injury” and that she was “not expected to survive”.
Heche had fallen into a coma shortly after the accident and remained in critical condition.
“It has long been her choice to donate her organs,” her spokesperson told Vidak For Congress.
On August 11, Heche’s “close friend” told the Daily Mail that she was “in terrible condition” and that smoke inhalation was “life-threatening”.
The friend asked people to “please pray” for the actress and felt that “only God” could “save” her.
After receiving a warrant to test her blood, the Los Angeles Police Department was reportedly able to determine that Heche was under the influence of cocaine at the time of the accident.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that the actress’s blood test results were also positive for fentanyl.
However, they warned that fentanyl may have been administered to Heche in the hospital to manage her pain after the accident.
The actress was not under the influence of alcohol, TMZ reports, despite a photo taken shortly before the accident that showed a red-capped bottle in the cup holder of her car.
On Aug. 10, the LAPD escalated its investigation into a DUI crime after the woman whose home Heche crashed into claimed she had been injured and required medical attention as a result.
According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the actress first smashed into the garage of a nearby apartment complex before backing up and driving away.
LAPD West Traffic Division officials previously confirmed she hit another vehicle before breaking into the house that caught fire.
Photos of the scene captured the “Men in Trees” star being placed on a stretcher showing serious injuries to her back, while aerial shots documented smoke billowing from the residence and numerous fire trucks in the area.
Heche leaves behind 20-year-old son Homer Laffoon, who she shared with ex-husband Coleman “Coley” Laffoon. The two were married from 2001 to 2009.
She is also mother to 13-year-old son Atlas Heche Tupper, who she shared with her “Men in Trees” co-star, James Tupper.
In addition, she was known for her three-year romance with Ellen DeGeneres, who simply said, “I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” when photographers asked her about the August 8 crash.
Heche, the youngest of five children, had a long history of substance abuse.
“I drank. I smoked. I used drugs. I had sex with people. I did everything I could to get the shame out of my life,” the Ohio resident told ABC News in 2020, noting that she had been sexually abused by her father for most of her childhood.
“I’m not crazy,” the “Hung” star said at the time. “But it’s a crazy life. I grew up in a crazy family. And it took 31 years to get the madness out of me.”
Despite the different hands she got, Heche had an incredibly successful acting career with both movies and television shows, earning 92 credits over the years.
She got her start on the soap opera “Another World”, with the dual roles of twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love. The portrayal earned her a 1991 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series.
In 1997 she co-starred with Johnny Depp in ‘Donnie Brasco’. The following year, she starred opposite Robert De Niro in “Wag the Dog.”
Heche also appeared in “Nip/Tuck” in 2005 and took on the role of Susan R. Jones on “The Michael J. Fox Show” from 2013 to 2014.
Together with dancer partner and choreographer Keo Motsepe, she participated in season 29 of ‘Dancing With the Stars’.
When asked in 2017 how Heche wanted to be remembered, she told Access Hollywood, “Oh… Oh lord oh lord… Hopefully I’ve made my kids happy… given them a life they love.”