Cynthia Heche, Sister of Actress Anne Heche, Dies at 53

On August 5th, 53 year-old Cynthia Heche died following her car crashing into a house and igniting in Los Angeles. Her life ended suddenly.

Nancy Heche has endured much heartache throughout her lifetime, beginning with Cynthia Heche’s death from heart condition as an infant and culminating in the secretly gay father of Heche dying of AIDS in 1983 and brother Nathan being killed in a car crash at age 18. Nancy remains alive, although estranged from Anne.

Early Life and Education

Cynthia Heche was the elder sister of Anne Heche and was born August 26, 1961 to their parents. At only two months of age she died due to heart complications. Additionally Heche has another younger sister Susan Bergman who passed away due to brain cancer in 2006.

Heche began her acting career on Another World as twin Vicky Hudson and Marley Love; later appearing in TV movies and guest roles. She shot to prominence during the 1990s thanks to supporting roles such as Walking and Talking as well as appearances in high-profile movies such as Donnie Brasco and Volcano; Heche also performed stage productions of Generation X slice-of-life pieces like Us and Them and Getting Away With Murder.

Professional Career

Heche’s acting career began quickly with her breakout role on Another World (1987-1991). Subsequently, she made an impressionful mark by appearing in notable films like O Pioneers! and Donnie Brasco.

After her high-profile romance with Ellen DeGeneres ended, Heche made appearances on TV series such as Ally McBeal and Men in Trees before going on Broadway in David Auburn’s Pulitzer-winning play Proof as one of its main characters – playing her daughter of a mathematician father.

Heche’s most notable roles include the USA Network drama series Dig, in which she played an FBI field office chief who unmasks a centuries-old plot, Aftermath, and ABC’s Quantico as guest roles. Unfortunately, in 2022 she was involved in a serious car crash which put her in a coma for over seven days before being removed from life support and back onto regular treatment.

Achievement and Honors

Cynthia Heche was the second child of her parents and sister of Anne Celeste Heche, best known for playing Vicky Hudson/Marley Love twins on Another World and winning multiple Daytime Emmy and Soap Opera Digest Awards as part of that role. Cynthia made headlines herself for playing Marley Love during Another World and won Daytime Emmy and Soap Opera Digest awards as a result.

She made appearances in films like Donnie Brasco, Volcano and I Know What You Did Last Summer as well as regular appearances on Ally McBeal and Men in Trees TV shows.

Heche’s personal life often overshadowed her acting career. She was in an intense romance with Ellen DeGeneres and released a memoir entitled Call Me Crazy that detailed sexual abuse from her father and allegations made about it in relation to this matter. Additionally, Heche lost one of her brothers Nathan in a car crash.

Personal Life

Heche’s life was filled with tragedy: her sister Cynthia died as an infant from heart defect; her father Donald led a double life of being a God-fearing Baptist choir leader by day and partying at gay bars by night; and Nathan Heche, aged 18, crashed his car into a tree and died, possibly by suicide.

Heche first became well-known through her portrayal of twin characters Vicky Hudson and Marley Love on soap opera, earning two Soap Opera Digest awards and a Daytime Emmy award for it. Since then she has appeared in films like Donnie Brasco: Six Days Seven Nights as well as drama-crime film Return to Paradise.

Heche was estranged from her mother, an ordained Christian counselor who holds that homosexuality is sinful, after she wrote in her 2001 memoir Call Me Crazy about her lesbian relationship with Ellen DeGeneres and then dating and marrying cameraman Coleman Laffoon who has become her partner and with whom they now share a son.

Net Worth

Heche has dedicated herself to becoming a household name in the entertainment world for several years, appearing in films, TV series, writing a book, and amassing an estimated net worth of $10 Million.

Starting her career with a small role in An Ambush of Ghosts, she quickly rose to stardom through daytime soap operas and other movie projects such as Donnie Brasco Volcano Wags the Dog among others.

Heche was born in Aurora, Ohio to Donald and Nancy Heche and has two siblings – Abigail (her older sister) and Nathan Heche (her younger brother).