5 things to know about Anne Heche 

Actress Anne Heche (Image via LA Times)
Actress Anne Heche (Image via LA Times)

Anne Heche was a wonderful actress who produced work that boasted immense talent and range. She donned a wide variety of roles in both film and television. Her roles in Donnie Brasco, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and Six Days, Seven Nights are some of the many memorable films she has been a part of. However, Another World is the television show that made her the most popular.

Heche died after suffering severe brain damage caused by a car crash last week. As we mourn the loss of an actress and iconic Hollywood celebrity, here are a few things about the actress that you probably didn't know.


Things you didn't know about Anne Heche

1) Anne Heche was nominated for an Emmy

Anne Heche in a still from Gracie's Choice (Image via IMDB)
Anne Heche in a still from Gracie's Choice (Image via IMDB)

Heche donned a supporting role in the critically acclaimed television show Gracie's Choice and was nominated for the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or a Movie. Although Heche didn't win that year, her performance won her a huge following and some great love from fans of the movie and cinephiles.

Anne Heche did a brilliant job of playing a negligent, drug-addicted mother to Kristen Bell's character in the movie. The film follows the teenager's attempt to adopt her three brothers and take responsibility away from her negligent mother. The performance is not just one of Heche's best, but one of the best in modern cinema.


2) She is an author of a book

Call Me Crazy by Anne Heche (Image via Amazon)
Call Me Crazy by Anne Heche (Image via Amazon)

Anne Heche's book, titled, Call Me Crazy, is a memoir of her life, where she describes her experiences growing up as the youngest member of her family. Her family moved eleven times while she was growing up and she lost her father to HIV when she was just 13 years old. Call Me Crazy is a heartfelt description of Heche's life and everything that made her.

The memoir was published in 2001 and was critically acclaimed for how brave it was. It spoke about the darkness lingering in the industry, s*xual abuse, and everything that caused turbulence in her life. At no point does the narrative hesitate to be honest.


3) She was a Broadway actress

Heche, apart from being a television and film actress, was also a part of plays on Broadway. She was also nominated for a Tony Award for The Best Actress in a Play. Tony Awards refers to The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theater and is regarded as one of the most prestigious achievements for actors involved with theaters.

Anne Heche was nominated for her role as Lily Garland in the play, Twentieth Century. Heche's extensive experience in theatre truly reflected in her performance on screen too.


4) She has dated Ellen DeGeneres

In the late 1990s, Anne Heche announced her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. This was a big deal at a time when queer relationships were not acceptable. Despite being in a profession that requires being in the likes of the general population, Heche and Ellen were both brave about coming out about their relationship.

This was also one of the things that made the two of them inspirational figures within the queer community. However, Heche did express that she had faced the ugly consequences of announcing a queer relationship in terms of professional opportunity.


5) She claimed that she was black-listed by Hollywood

Heche became a queer icon after she came out about her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. The actress was subsequently blacklisted by the industry and was also supposedly fired from her projects at the time.

Heche told Page Six that she was black-listed by Hollywood for having announced a queer relationship, which was considered a taboo at the time. The actress cited that as the reason for not doing a studio picture for 10 long years and also being fired from a $10 million picture deal. Heche was ahead of her time in terms of values that she believed in and bravely came out about.


Through the roles that she donned in her TV shows, films, her memoirs, and her gestures as a public figure, Anne Heche continues to be part of Hollywood and her legacy continues to find a place in all our hearts.

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