The life and career of Anne Heche, an actress with ups and downs who struggled to stay on her feet: her films and her partners

After crashing, Anne Heche deleted her podcast where she talked about drinking alcohol 1:24

(CNN) --

Actress Anne Heche, brain-dead after a vicious car accident, rose to fame in the 1980s on "Another World."

Her long career has been marked by public ups and downs and her struggle to maintain a positive attitude.

Heche became a well-known figure from her participation in the soap opera "Another World", in which she played the double role of the twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love between 1987 and 1991.

His work earned him a Daytime Emmy and was the starting point for his participation in films such as "Donnie Brasco", "Six Days, Seven Nights" and "Wag the Dog".

In more recent years, Heche has appeared on such television shows as "The Brave," "Quantico," and "Chicago PD."

Anne Heche and Ellen DeGeneres, a high-profile relationship

However, it was her high-profile romantic relationship with Ellen DeGeneres in the late 1990s that really brought her into the public spotlight.

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"Ellen is for me the embodiment of the masculine and the feminine. I think that is why our energies connected so quickly and easily, because I have always felt in my being that I am both masculine and feminine," said the actress about her then partner.

Degeneres and Anne Heche photographed in Westwood, California, in 1998 (Credit: Héctor Mata/ AFP/ Getty Images)

Heche and DeGeneres were considered one of Hollywood's first lesbian power couples.

They separated after three and a half years of relationship, which according to Heche had negative consequences for her career.

In a 2021 interview with Page Six, the actress said she felt she had been "blacklisted" after going public with their relationship.

"I didn't do a studio movie for 10 years," recalled Heche, who dated DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000.

However, he was eventually able to bounce back on both a professional and personal level.

She appeared on numerous television shows and married cameraman Coleman Laffoon, with whom she spent eight years and had a son.

She also had another son with her "Men In Trees" co-star, James Tupper.

After the accident, Tupper was the author of one of the many public messages of support for the actress, whom he described as a "charming woman, actress and mother."

Anne Heche arriving at the premiere of Netflix's "The Unforgivable" in Los Angeles, California on November 30, 2021. (Credit: Valerie Macon/ AFP/ Getty Image)

A life of ups and downs and hope

The actress has been open about her mental health battles.

"Although I was in therapy for years, I never told anyone that I had another personality. I never told anyone that I heard voices and that I was talking to God. I never told anyone about it," he explained about it.

In her 2001 memoir, "Call me Crazy," she recounted being sexually abused as a child.

In 2000, she was hospitalized after being found knocking on the door of a stranger's home in rural California and behaving erratically.

"I was at the bitter, bitter end. I was ready to leave this planet in my spaceship," she said.

A car accident in 2022 left her in a coma with severe burns.

An aerial image shows the scene of the accident suffered by Anne Heche.

Anne Heche had a life of public ups and downs.

But despite her struggles, she shone on screen and struggled to stay positive.

"I've always wanted to heal my life. I've always wanted to see the bright side of life. I've always wanted to see the good in everything that's happened to me. And I'm... I couldn't be happier with who I am right now. No I could be happier with what I have been able to achieve in my life," said the actress.