In her posthumous memoir, Call Me Anne, actress Anne Heche wrote that Ellen was the “first and only woman I’ve fallen in love with,” adding that she was “hypnotized” by the comedian’s outspokenness about her sexuality bypass.
Heche famously dated the talk show host between 1997 and 2000, becoming one of Hollywood’s first openly lesbian couples in the process.
During his lifetime, Heche had been open about the fact that her father, a Baptist choir minister, was a secret homosexual. He died of complications from AIDS in 1983 at the age of 45.
“I think my dad was sexually addicted. I think he saw everyone as a sexual being. But I think at the time he was living a very flamboyant gay lifestyle,” she said in a 2001 interview with Larry King. “You know, back then there were bathhouses where it was all about how many you could get through a night. You know, there’s no question what he was doing back then.’
Heche died in a serious car accident in August. The actress had traces of cocaine and fentanyl in her system at the time. She was 53 years old.
In the book, Heche accuses Six Days, Seven Nights director Ivan Reitman of telling her to be more like Jodie Foster and not speak publicly about her sexuality. She wrote: “Why, Ivan asked me, can’t I just be like Jodie Foster? (I didn’t know what that meant. “Everybody knows,” he explained, “it” was her sexuality. “She just doesn’t talk about it
Just as they were: Ellen DeGeneres sent her ex-girlfriend Anne Heche a heartfelt message just before it was announced the actress passed away in August at the age of 53
Heche’s son Homer announced earlier this month that his mother had finished the manuscript of her memoir before her death in August
Heche’s autobiography, the sequel to her 2001 book Call Me Crazy, is out January 24th.
In an excerpt from the book published by People, Heche writes about putting her burgeoning film career at risk because of her relationship with Ellen. The actress regrets that the media didn’t ask her why she was in a relationship with the comedian at the time.
Heche wrote: “Since nobody asked, I’ll tell you why. Because I had lived in a family built on lies. My father has hidden his sexuality all his life.”
She continued, “When I met Ellen and she spoke openly and honestly about her sexuality, it was the most attractive and alluring trait in a person that I had ever seen. I was mesmerized by her honesty and that’s why she was the first and only woman I fell in love with.”
“I fell in love with a person who chose to use her very public persona in support of the cause she stood for, which is LGBTQ+ rights for anyone on the planet who wanted them. Love became my destiny,” added the late star.
In 1983, her father, Donald, was one of the first people in the United States to be diagnosed with AIDS, letting his family learn that the Baptist minister and choirmaster had been living a secret homosexual life.
According to Heche, her father never admitted to being gay. He died of the disease at the age of 45.
Heche pictured trying to escape a stretcher as firefighters were escorting her to safety after her fiery crash on Aug. 5
“This is a sad day”: DeGeneres, who dated Heche from 1997 to 2000. “I send all my love to Anne’s children, family and friends.”
Following her tragic death, Ellen released a brief statement on Twitter, saying, “This is a sad day. I send all my love to Anne’s children, family and friends.”
The Donnie Brasco star is survived by two sons – Atlas, who she had with Tupper, and Homer, 20, who she had with ex-husband Coleman Laffoon.
Heche also wrote about being confronted about her relationship with Ellen in 1997 while filming the hit comedy Six Days, Seven Nights.
Heche said that her co-star Harrison Ford and director Ivan Reitman questioned her about rumors that she and Ellen were having a child.
She wrote: “Our ‘pregnancy’ was everywhere. They showed me this as proof of why this openness about my relationship was becoming a pain in the ass for them.”
Anne Heche and Harrison Ford in the hit 1998 film Six Days Seven Nights
Six Days, Seven Nights director Ivan Reitman asked Heche to be more like Jodie Foster and not speak publicly about her sexuality
Heche, pictured in the synopsis for her new book while filming Six Days, Seven Nights, is credited to her co-star Harrison Ford as her “mentor.”
DeGeneres and Heche were serious enough that in 1999 they declared that if Vermont legalized same-sex marriage in a high-profile case, then they would tie the knot in the state Supreme Court.
Heche continued, “Why, Ivan asked me, can’t I just be like Jodie Foster? (I didn’t know what that meant. “Everybody knows,” he explained, “it” was her sexuality. “She just doesn’t talk about it.”)
Foster first came out publicly about her sexuality in 2007 during a speech at The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment breakfast.
It doesn’t appear that Heche has any ill intentions towards Ford. The blurb for Call Me Anne references “how Harrison Ford became her on-set mentor.”
In a 2020 interview with People, she said it was Ford who stepped in and saved her role in the comedy.
“I wouldn’t have gotten this film. He called me the day after they said I wouldn’t get it because I took Ellen [Volcano] Premiere and Harrison Ford, he was a hero.
“He said, ‘Honestly, my love, I don’t care who you sleep with. We’re doing the best romantic comedy there is and we’ll see you on set.”
The Heche family, left to right, Nancy, Abigail, Nathan, Donald and Anne Heche
Flashback to 1997: DeGeneres and Heche were serious enough that in 1999 they declared that they would tie the knot if Vermont legalized same-sex marriage
Shortly before her death, Heche said in an interview with the podcast “Behind the Velvet Rope” that she and Ellen broke up because the comedian’s goal was “to make a lot of money.”
Although Heche credited Ellen with “moving the needle” by coming out.
She said in the interview: “Ellen deserves the position she deserves. Besides me, she had no warriors on her side. We were each other’s army and that was erased from history, but it was true. She didn’t have many people standing up for her or with her.
Earlier this month, Heche’s 20-year-old son, Homer, took over his mother’s Instagram account to announce the book’s release.
Homer explained that his mother completed the manuscript for her book before her death. He said: “I know she was excited to share it with the world. So mom, here I am sharing it with the community you created, may it thrive and take on a life of its own as you wished.’
Heche’s son also said that a special event to launch the book will be held at the Barnes & Noble location in the Grove at Farmer’s Market on January 24th.
The event will be attended by Heche’s podcast partner Heather Duffy. She told People after posting the first excerpt: “[Heche’s] life was booked with much pain.’
Duffy continued, “Anne was homeless growing up and was abused by her father, then made it to Hollywood and was so successful and then was treated like that by the press and the public… blacklisted.” .”
“It never exhausted her. That has never made her less optimistic. It has never made her suspicious of others. She was full of kindness to others,” she added.