Anne Heche was one of Hollywood’s hottest young actresses before her high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres overshadowed her blossoming career, dooming her to become tabloid fodder for more than two decades.
In the mid-90s, the spiky-haired blonde — who died Monday a week after crashing her car in Los Angeles — courted critical acclaim with scene-stealing roles in indie smash “Walking and Talking” and the mobster blockbuster “Donnie Brasco” — prompting studio execs to sit up and pay attention.
By 1997, Heche — who had just turned 28 years old — was poised to become Tinseltown’s next leading lady, having inked deals to star in a rom-com opposite Harrison Ford and appear in a highly-anticipated remake of “Psycho.”
But in August of that year, the starlet went public with the much-older and much more famous DeGeneres, who had publicly come out on the cover of Time magazine just four months earlier.
The couple cozied up for the cameras at the premiere of Heche’s disaster flick “Volcano” and their same-sex romance exploded into the public eye.
“It changed my life forever,” Heche admitted to Page Six in a 2020 interview. “The stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that I was fired from my multimillion-dollar picture deal and I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years.”
Anne Heche was one of Hollywood’s hottest young actresses before her high-profile relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. The former couple is pictured together in the 1990s. Getty Images
Heche is pictured in 1997’s “Donnie Brasco.” The actress had caught the attention of critics and was poised to become Hollywood’s next leading lady. ©Sony Pictures/Courtesy EverettAt the time, there were few actresses who publicly identified as gay or bisexual — and even fewer that paraded their same-sex relationship at movie premieres.
Homophobia was rampant in the mid-90s, with a 1996 Gallup poll finding just 27% of Americans approved of same-sex marriage. The same year, the Defense of Marriage Act — defining marriage as the union between one man and one woman — passed Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.
Heche met DeGeneres at the 1997 Vanity Fair Oscar party, with the pair embarking on a secret relationship.
The actress later divulged that she had never been with a woman before, and slept with DeGeneres on the first night of them meeting. She described their romp as “the best sex I’d ever had.”
After six months together, the young actress then told execs she wanted to take her sitcom-star girlfriend to the premiere of “Volcano” — but faced immediate resistance.
“I was told if I took Ellen, I would lose my Fox contract,” Heche recalled in a 2020 interview with Page Six. “I took Ellen to the premiere [anyway] and I was ushered out by security before the movie even ended and was told I was not allowed to go to my own after-party for fear they would get pictures of me with a woman.”
Against the advice of publicists and studio execs, Heche went public with her relationship with DeGeneres at the 1997 premiere of “Volcano.”Getty ImagesThe couple’s relationship was subsequently splashed across the front pages of gossip magazines, but the loved-up couple ignored warnings to tone down their amorous displays.
They soon became fixtures on the red carpet, with Heche holding DeGeneres’ hand at the premiere of “Six Days, Seven Nights” — her big budget rom-com with Harrison Ford.
The film was a smash, grossing more than $160 million at the box office — but Heche found that her acting offers had dried up despite managing to draw in audiences.
Heche held hands with DeGeneres at the premiere of her box-office smash “Six Days, Seven Nights” in 1998. Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Heche appeared in “Six Days, Seven Nights” opposite Harrison Ford.The film was a smash, grossing more than $160 million at the box office — but she subsequently found her acting offers had dried up, despite managing to draw in audiences.©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy
Things only worsened when the high-profile pair split in August 2000, with the break-up widely documented in the media.
They released a joint statement to People at the time that read, “It is an amicable parting and we greatly value the 3 1/2 years we have spent together.”
But DeGeneres told the Los Angeles Times a year later that the split was a surprise to her.
“She walked out the door and I haven’t spoken to her since, I don’t have the answers,” she stated.
At the time, tabloids reported that Heche — who identified as bisexual and had never dated another woman — had left DeGeneres for cameraman Coleman Laffoon.
Although Heche and DeGeneres put on loved-up displays in public, the star has hinted that her comedian lover tried to control the way she dressed when they were together.
In an April 2021 TikTok video, Heche posted a photo of her from the 1998 Golden Globes and said: “Why do I look like a hippie? It’s because Ellen didn’t want me to dress sexy.”
Heche and DeGeneres became fixtures on Hollywood red carpets in the late 1990s and were known as America’s most famous same-sex couple. Ron Galella Collection via Getty
In an April 2021 TikTok video, Heche posted a photo of her from the 1998 Golden Globes and said: “Why do I look like a hippie? It’s because Ellen didn’t want me to dress sexy.”Getty ImagesThe break-up with DeGeneres significantly impacted the actress, who was placed in a psychiatric unit one day after the split.
According to reports, Heche had driven into the desert after taking ecstasy before knocking on the door of a stranger, who welcomed her in. The homeowner called the cops, with Heche telling the arriving deputies that “God was going to take everyone back to heaven in a spaceship.” She was then taken by ambulance to the hospital before being admitted to a psychiatric unit before being released hours later.
The following year, Heche released an autobiography titled “Call Me Crazy,” detailing her turbulent childhood.
The actress alleged that she was sexually abused by her father — a closeted gay man who died from AIDS when she was just 13. A year after her dad’s death, her older brother died after driving into a tree — an act that Heche believed to be suicide.
In an interview promoting the book, Heche told Barbara Walters: “I had a fantasy world that I escaped to. I called my other personality Celestia,” she explains. “I believed I was from that world. I believed I was from another planet. I think I was insane.”
At the time, one newspaper claimed Heche had “spilled enough beans to worry Taco Bell” — with her film career taking a backseat to stories about her personal life.
In 2003, DeGeneres began appearing on her own eponymous daytime talk show, which instantly turned into a mega-hit.
Last year, Heche spoke out on her own podcast claiming her ex may have sabotaged her career. Actors were often required to promote their movies and shows on DeGeneres’ show, which Heche would have been unable to do.
“If you’re on a show or in a film, they’ve got to go through the ‘Ellen’ show to promote it — and guess what? Ellen blocked you from the show. And everybody knows that,” her podcast co-host stated.
Heche and Laffoon are pictured on their wedding day in September 2001. APHeche went on to wed Laffoon, and the pair welcomed a son, Homer, the following year.
Although Heche was now in a heterosexual relationship, offers for roles in high-profile films did not return.
Instead, the star was confined to small-budget indie films, many of which were critically panned. In 2006, she signed on to star in the ABC drama “Men In Trees” — perhaps Heche’s only notable role since her split from DeGeneres.
The show ran for two seasons and co-starred Canadian actor James Tupper.
In 2007, Heche was in the headlines again when she reported having left Lafoon for Tupper — although the rumors were never confirmed.
Heche and Tupper welcomed a son named Atlas together in 2009. They split in 2018.
Heche was in a 9-year relationship with her “Men In Trees” co-star, James Tupper before their split in 2018. The pair have a son, Atlas, together. Getty Images
Heche is seen with Tupper and their son Atlas (back), as well as Heche’s oldest son, Homer (front) in the 2012 snap. The girl in the image is unidentified. FilmMagicIn the years following her split from Tupper, Heche primarily focused on raising her two sons.
However, she did have guest roles on shows including “All Rise,” “Chicago PD,” and “The Brave,” but she never returned to the A-list.
The actress was placed on life support after suffering a severe anoxic brain injury following a fiery car crash in Los Angeles last week.
As Heche lay in a coma, DeGeneres was asked about the condition of her famous ex, before responding: “We’re not in touch with each other, so I wouldn’t know.”
She later tweeted out a more affectionate message, writing: “This is a sad day,” DeGeneres wrote. “I’m sending Anne’s children, family and friends all of my love.”
