Anne Heche's life before car crash included mental health struggles, Ellen DeGeneres romance

Anne Heche died Sunday after being taken off life support, publicist Holly Baird said. The actress had been brain dead and in a coma the past week after the actress crashed her vehicle into a house Aug. 5 in Los Angeles.

She suffered a "severe anoxic brain injury," according to the statement provided to USA TODAY.

Heche's manager Michael McConnell said in a statement last week that Heche "has not regained consciousness since shortly after the accident." Four days after being admitted, Heche was put on a ventilator.

Police said Friday "there will be no further investigative efforts" after previously announcing they'd be launching an investigation to see if Heche was under the influence when she crashed.

More: Anne Heche dead at 53 after week-long hospitalization from fiery car crash

Anne Heche was trapped in burning car for more than an hour before rescuers got her out

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a news release that the vehicle struck a two-story home, causing "structural compromise and erupting in heavy fire." The driver was taken to a hospital "in critical condition," according to the release.

Fifty-nine firefighters responded to the incident and took 65 minutes to extinguish the flames and rescue an adult female from the vehicle, LAFD said. No other injuries were reported.

David Manpearl, a neighbor of the person whose home was destroyed in Heche's crash, told Fox News Friday he attempted to save the actress from her car but it was "impossible."

She told him "she was not OK," he shared. "So that was tough."

What makes a good or bad parent? Hayden Panettiere shows prioritizing your mental health can make you a better parent

Alec Baldwin, more celebrities rally around Anne Heche post-crash

Alec Baldwin posted an Instagram video on Aug. 6 going out to his "old pal" and "The Juror" co-star Heche. "She is an amazingly talented woman," Baldwin said and called her "brave."

"I'm sorry you had this tragic thing happen to you," he added. "Sending you all my love."

Late Friday, "Big Little Lies" and "A Million Little Things" star James Tupper, previously Heche's partner of 10 years and father of one of her children, posted a photo of the actress and their son, Atlas, now 13, on his verified Instagram account.

"Thoughts and prayers for this lovely woman, actress and mother tonight," he wrote with a heart emoji. "anneheche we love you."

Heche is also a mother to son Homer, 20, whom she shares with ex-husband Coleman Laffoon.

988 hotline: The new mental health hotline could make 'all the difference,' experts say

Anne Heche rose to fame in the 1990s

Heche launched to fame starring in the soap opera "Another World" in the '90s, playing twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love. The roles earned her a Daytime Emmy.

She later starred in films "Six Days Seven Nights," "Donnie Brasco," "Wag the Dog," "Volcano" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

More recently, the actress appeared in "All Rise," "Chicago P.D." and "The Brave." She is expected to appear in The Weeknd's upcoming HBO show "The Idol," starring Johnny Depp's daughter Lily-Rose Depp. A premiere date for "Idol" has not been announced.

Heche also finished filming Lifetime movie "Girl in Room 13," which is still scheduled to air Sept. 17, network representative Theresa Black told USA TODAY.

The film is "important" to Heche, executive VP and head of Lifetime programming Amy Winter said while discussing the project during a panel for the TV Critics Association Thursday.

"We all sought to make a film that would bring attention to the appalling issue of human sex trafficking," Winter said, sharing "deep" concern for the actress. "We hope that this film moves you and that you are just as inspired as Anne was to help us with our with our mission to stop violence against women.”

The actress dated Ellen DeGeneres from 1997 to 2000

At the height of Heche's career, she dated Ellen DeGeneres after the comedian came out in 1997. While competing on "Dancing With the Stars" in 2020, Heche opened up about her past relationship with DeGeneres. The two met at a Vanity Fair Oscars party in 1997 and were a couple until 2000.

"I was in a relationship with Ellen DeGeneres for three-and-a-half years and the stigma attached to that relationship was so bad that I was fired from my multimillion-dollar picture deal, and I did not work in a studio picture for 10 years," Heche said on "DWTS."

Judy Wieder, editor-in-chief of The Advocate, told People at the end of Heche and DeGeneres' relationship: "Either they were made into role models for happiness for same-sex couples or attacked. Cameras followed them everywhere. At times that might be exhilarating, but at other times I’m sure it was an utter nightmare."

Pride Month 2022: 'Bachelor's Elizabeth Corrigan, Elliot Page, Rebel Wilson, more celebrate

Heche spoke openly about her mental health struggles in her memoir 'Call Me Crazy'

Heche has discussed her mental health struggles in recent years.

In 2000, she was hospitalized after knocking on a stranger's door near Fresno, California. Authorities said she appeared shaken and disoriented and spoke incoherently to the residents.

In “Call Me Crazy,” her memoir released in 2001, Heche talked about her lifelong struggles with mental health and a childhood of abuse.

"I’m not crazy," she told ABC News that year. "But it’s a crazy life. I was raised in a crazy family and it took 31 years to get the crazy out of me."

To cope with the trauma of her life, "I drank. I smoked. I did drugs. I had sex," the actress said. "I did anything I could to get the shame out of my life."

In a sitdown with Larry King in 2001, Heche said she believed she was schizophrenic but "never told anybody" until then.

"I was a perfect hider. I was raised to hide. I was raised to pretend. I was raised to always tell everybody that everything was fine, and even though I was in therapy for years I never told anybody that I had another personality. I never told anybody that I heard voices and spoke to God," the star said.

Contributing: Lynn Elber and Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press, and Charles Trepany, Kim Willis and Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Anne Heche's life before crash: 'Another World' star, Ellen DeGeneres