Anne Heche, an American actress, has died. She was 53.
The news comes a week after she crashed her car into a house in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, leaving the home destroyed and the actress in critical condition.
Many had hoped Heche would make a recovery after a publicist for the actor reported her in a “stable” condition after the crash.
Firefighters said she had been speaking to them as she was cut free of the wreckage and taken to hospital.
But the actor lost consciousness shortly afterwards; on 8 August, representatives posted an update, saying Heche was in an “extreme critical condition” and had slipped into a coma.
On Friday, her family said out a statement that she was not expected to survive and that she was being kept on life support to determine if her organs could be donated.
The family’s rep said Heche is legally dead according to California law, but her heart is still beating and she has not been taken off life support in order to allow OneLegacy Foundation enough time to find recipients who will be a match.
In a latest development, a statement released by the actress’ rep reads: “Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul, a loving mother, and a loyal friend.” The rep issued the statement on behalf of Heche’s family and friends.
“Anne will be deeply missed but she lives on through her beautiful sons, her iconic body of work, and her passionate advocacy.
Her bravery for always standing in her truth, spreading her message of love and acceptance, will continue to have a lasting impact.”
Heche, an actor of sharp intelligence, rose to prominence in the early 1990s, playing twins on the soap Another World, and with film roles, including the part of Laura in Nicole Holofcener’s debut feature, ‘Walking’ and ‘Talking’.
Her first major role was as Johnny Depp’s girlfriend in gangster drama ‘Donnie Brasco’ (1997).
In the same year she was cast in other enduring titles: political satire, ‘Wag the Dog’, disaster movie ‘Volcano‘ and slasher classic ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’.
She is also known for her role in the 2004 film Gracie’s Choice, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for best supporting actress, and the ABC romantic comedy series ‘Men in Trees’, which aired from 2006 to 2008.
Shortly after releasing her first memoir, Call Me Crazy, in 2001, Heche made her Broadway debut in 2002 in a production of Proof, a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, and starred alongside Alec Baldwin in Broadway’s Twentieth Century in 2004. She was nominated for Tony Award in best actress in a play.