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| Anne Heche in Volcano |
Actress Anne Heche has been pronounced brain dead in a Los Angeles hospital at the age of 53, it emerged today. Her body is being kept alive so that her organs can be donated, but with severe head injuries. she cannot recover consciousness.
The 53-year-old had reportedly taken cocaine and possibly fentanyl when she hit pedestrians and crashed her car into a house, setting it on fire, on Friday 5 August. As well as head injuries, she suffered lung damage and third degree burns.
Heche made a big splash early in her career, with roles in Donnie Brasco, Volcano and Wag The Dog, but her career suffered after she became romantically involved with Ellen DeGeneres at a time when same sex relationships were almost invisible in Hollywood. She credited Harrison Ford with refusing to tolerate prejudice and insisting that she be cast in Six Days Seven Nights. Later she moved into independent films, with a prominent role in Onur Tukel's Catfight, and she was most recently seen in Lindy Gossling's tornado drama 13 Minutes.
Heche is survived by her two sons, the youngest of whom is still in his early teens.
