Hollywood actress and Ellen DeGeneres’ ex-partner, Anne Heche has died a week after crashing her car into a Los Angeles home.
She has been on life support since she suffered a severe brain injury in the accident, but it was switched off on Friday, August 12.
The news of her death was confirmed by her friend Nancy Davis, who wrote on Instagram:
“Heaven has a new Angel. My loving, kind, fun, endearing and beautiful friend @anneheche went to heaven. I will miss her terribly and cherish all the beautiful memories we have shared.
“Anne was always the kindest, most thoughtful person who always brought out the best in me. She was so supportive with anything she could do to help @racetoerasems and would always say yes when she knew she could contribute something with her time, talent and creative genius to help find a cure for MS . My heart is broken.”
The actress had been hospitalized at the Grossman Burn Center at West Hills hospital north of Los Angeles after a horror crash on August 5.
On August 11, a representative for her loved ones confirmed she was brain dead and was only being kept alive on life support so that doctors could harvest her organs for donation.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ that Heche was high on cocaine when she was driving, but that is yet to be confirmed by a publicly released toxicology report.
A photo taken just moments before the crash shows Heche at the wheel of her car with a bottle of vodka in the cup holder.
Moments after the photo was taken, she crashed her car into a garage before speeding off and smashing it into a home where it exploded.
The actress suffered extreme smoke inhalation from the fire.
She is survived by her two sons.
Heche’s ex, Ellen DeGeneres, took to Twitter to express her sadness following news she was not expected to survive.
DeGeneres and Heche dated from 1997 to 2000 and were considered one of the first lesbian power couples in Hollywood.
On September 1, 2001, she married Coleman “Coley” Laffoon, a cameraman whom she met the previous year on DeGeneres’s stand-up comedy tour. They had a son in March 2002.
Other celebrities have also taken to various platforms to mourn the actress.
