In an excerpt from her upcoming memoir, Anne Heche wrote about what it was like for her to date Ellen DeGeneres.
As you know, Anne passed away tragically earlier this year after crashing her car into a Los Angeles home. The fiery wreck would claim her life after spending nearly a week in a coma. She was pronounced dead at a hospital near Mar Vista on August 12 and received a special tribute for donating her organs.
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Before her death, the 53-year-old actress was working on a memoir. You may remember her first book, Call Me Crazy, was released in 2001. She planned for her second memoir to be a follow-up, and she signed a deal back in May. Now, in a first-look at Call Me Anne, it’s revealed the late thespian wrote about her relationship with Ellen.
The pair dated from 1997 to 2000, shortly after DeGeneres came out publicly as a lesbian. In an excerpt via AP, which was released on Thursday, Heche described the complicated publicized romance:
“I was labeled ‘outrageous’ because I fell in love with a woman. I had never been with a woman before I dated Ellen.”
The Volcano star continued to detail her confusion with her sexuality at the time:
“I did not, personally, identify as a lesbian. I simply fell in love! It was, to be clear, as odd to me as anyone else.”
The Six Days Seven Nights actress said the term “gay” didn’t feel right to her — and she fell in love with the comedian for the person she was rather than her gender:
“There were no words to describe how I felt. Gay didn’t feel right, and neither did straight. Alien might be the best fit, I sometimes thought. What, why, and how I fell in love with a person instead of their gender, I would have loved to have answered if anyone had asked, but as I said earlier, no one ever did.”
She was so open and honest. People used to ridicule her for this, but she was always helping others feel not-so-alone.
The Hour of Lead alum was confident about being so honest, too:
“I am happy that I was able to tell you in this book — once and for all.”
Aww, so bittersweet.
Publisher Jarred Weisfeld of Start Publishing’s Viva Editions imprint spoke to Publisher’s Weekly on Wednesday and said the company is “grateful” to publish the actress’ book after her passing:
“Anne was an inspiration to the LGBTQ+ community and beyond. This book deserves to be read by all of her fans. We are grateful to have the opportunity to share her message with the world. While we are very sad that Anne isn’t here to see the book be published we know it’s what she would have wanted.”
Weisfeld also details what the book will be about:
“[Call Me Anne] consist[s] of personal anecdotes of her rise to fame: how Harrison Ford became her on-set mentor, her relationship with Ellen Degeneres, her encounter with Harvey Weinstein, her history of childhood sexual abuse, her relationship with God, her journey to love herself.”
Wow, we can’t wait to read it! The book is scheduled to be released on January 24, 2023. And although it’s sad Anne won’t be with us to celebrate the release, we can take comfort in knowing her last gift to us will be her own words.
[Image via MEGA/WENN]
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