With the much-anticipated release of Anne Heche’s final book, “Call Me Anne,” the Emmy award-winning actress and writer is finally getting the recognition she deserves. The public knew of her struggles with an abusive childhood and her bravery in taking a stand for the LGBTQ+ community in 1997 when she and her then-partner Ellen Degeneres walked the red carpet as a couple. Heche was immediately let go from her multi-million dollar movie contract with Fox. A brave stand that Anne took all in the name of equality.

In August 2022, Anne Heche was in a tragic accident that took her life. Now she has the final word on her spirit, career, and love.

The Los Angeles Inquisitor reached out to some of Anne’s closest friends and chosen family for their real-life commentary on the celebrated entertainer. Anne was larger than life and encouraged her audience to live in love and kindness. We believe she lived by that philosophy on and off the screen, as you can read below.

“My mom was the brightest person I’ve ever known. She always knew how to solve a problem, or help a friend. She always knew the right thing to do. I cannot put into words how grateful I am or how much I miss her.”

Anne and I were together for more than a decade, we have a beautiful son together and in that time, she was the very definition of light in our lives, always bringing fun, love and energy. She will always be remembered in our hearts and minds.

The loss of Anne to those that loved her and to the world is immense. Anne was joyful despite all the challenges she faced. She was truthful despite being in a business that is make-believe. In her passing and our reminiscing about her, we will be inspired to spread love and kindness and lead with honesty.

Anne was one of the most self-confident people I know, but that was because she worked her ass off and had an entire career’s worth of proof of her talent, so there was no room for self-doubt. She embodied everything about the saying, “Work hard and be nice.” Her public stand for gender-free love showed people a new path to acceptance and moved the needle significantly for LGBTQ+ rights. Anne taught me how to be fearless — I will forever be grateful for that gift. I’ve learned that letting go is hard. We fight to hold on, and we also fight to let go, but Anne will always be with me, and I will live my life as big as possible for both of us.

My beloved friend, muse, and cosmic sister, how I miss you. August 5th was a day I will always remember as long as I live. The emotional pain will stay with me forever, and the fight for your legacy will be an honor that I will undertake for the rest of my life. But this is not a message of sadness.

This is a message of triumph for your voice being heard. Your book has your words shining through. I will forever be grateful that Heather was able to carry this for all of us to enjoy and learn from your wisdom. You are a unicorn, so special and divine. I learned so much from you and will love you forever. Thank you for touching me with your eternal light as long as the universe allows. I will cherish our times together and spread your message of love for eternity. Champagne kisses my chosen one, Derek.

Photographer Rowan Daly shared a never-before-seen photo of him and Anne with Los Angeles Inquisitor.

“I can say so many joyful things about Anne and our time together. Those small moments we artists share in between our collaborations and creations can either be embracing or exclusionary, and Anne’s character and talent always felt like a warm embrace. The lit fire in her heart allowed mine to burn brighter and truer as a result of having known her. I hope to share that same light and warmth with everyone I pass by in my journey, as she was so willing to do with me. I love you, Anne.”

“In my life, I have come across very few artists who I felt were actually born “too soon.” Her vision, language, and creativity were brought to the world decades before they could be heard authentically. Anne was a trailblazer in gender fluidity. The way she approached art and creativity was by continually pushing boundaries.

In her time, the LGBTQIA+ movement had very little representation in Hollywood. Her voice and conviction challenged that, creating a domino effect that has rarely been seen again.

Creativity takes courage, Anne was never afraid to speak out, speak up and speak her truth, and I am forever grateful for this.”

Anne was excellent, brilliant, talented, loyal, incredibly kind and complicated. To anyone who would ask, we would joke to anyone that “We’ve known each other since the Reagan/Bush administration.”

Truthfully, the beginning of our story started when I first did her makeup when her oldest son, now aged 20, was just two months old.

It was at 4:15 am, and we had to be quiet because he was sleeping in his crib in the other room. When I was done, she popped up, looked in the mirror, turned to me, and whispered/screamed, “I LOVE it!” That moment cemented the foundation of a two-decade-long relationship that transcended work. It became family.

She called me a “G’uncle” to her kids and immediately accepted me into her world.

Anne saw me on every level, especially as an artist and RESPECTED my work process. Putting her face forward, eyes closed and letting me take over. She never looked down at a phone and didn’t allow distractions. And when I’d finish, that’s when I would ask if she wanted to have a look. “Why?” she’d ask incredulously. “Why should I ever have to look when I trust you implicitly!”

Spoiler alert- often after she’d finish dressing, she’d exclaim with more of a scream than a whisper, “I LOVE it!!” We had six million running inside jokes that were always aligned with our humour.

Aside from that, our conversations were filled with stories of our lives, equally with tears and laughter.Anne was so generous with her time, spirit, and energy! Unparalleled. She swung from metaphoric chandeliers and danced on figurative (probably actual) tables.

I think it was just like her to depart around a full moon, a perfect sphere of light with a beginning and an end, beaming brightly, its gravity pulling her up to become a literal star. Gone way, way too soon, but very much a part of the light she’d emanated for years.

The first time I met Anne, I felt seen! Not just as an artist but as a human. She had that rare gift of giving me her full attention and leaving me feeling like i mattered. We collaborated on so many looks for the characters she played.

It was always Anne’s strategy to show up on set the first day of shooting, knowing exactly who the woman was she was playing. She didn’t let people define it for her. Full commitment every time was her method. I created so many memorable hair looks for the red carpet as well . Over the years, she would discover hidden talents in me, Talents that my own fear allowed me to keep from the ears and eyes of public opinion. She would always surprise me with a spontaneous idea she had to bring these talents out in the open, like when she got on the piano and told me to sing. She recorded every word and was overjoyed at the vulnerability I was able to have with her. She made it easy. She made a lot of things easy whereas others made them difficult. She was as generous as the day is long, a real pioneer for the artist and the underdog. I want her desperately on earth with me, but i am also a blessed man to have known her and to have her now watching over me and guiding me.

“I had only met Anne a few times, but she definitely left an impression on me. I did her last photoshoot, which was supposed to be for my magazine, David’s Guide. She lived down the street from my studio, so I asked if she needed to be picked up because she had a lot of clothes to carry. She and Heather insisted that they would roll their clothes down Broadway to my place. I sent my assistants to help them with their clothes, and they were rolling a rack of clothes down the street. Anne, Heather, and their hair and makeup team (Gregory and Jon) arrived at my place at the same time, and it was and was an explosion of energy once the shoot started. I turned on some music, Anne started dancing, and the party began. Anne asked me for a hammer, and she opened my window, which had been glued shut (I didn’t even know it was glued). She was a firecracker, and I will miss her energy so much.”

“I met Anne on the set of Mr. Warburton Magazine. She was my first Celebrity Interview for a cover. I remember being so nervous and excited to meet her, but her personality was warm, inviting, and casual for the first introduction. Little did I know that was the beginning of a close friendship. We celebrated each other’s birthdays, had holidays together, and most of all, Anne supported me, big or small.

Covid brought us even closer, and I am so grateful to have had those precious moments with her just before her passing. Anne was an inspiration to everyone she met. She lifted everyone around her and made everyone feel special, no matter who they were. She would have continued to do great things, and her time with us was cut too short. I will cherish my memories with her; she will always be loved and missed. I know she is experiencing freedom at its fullest now.”

I was having lunch with a good friend of mine who is also a director of feature films. My phone was on the table in front of me. It rang and he saw my phone’s caller ID – Anne Heche was calling. I excused myself for a moment to take the call and once I returned, he commented, “You know, she’s one of the greatest talents of her generation.”

I knew. If you knew Anne, you couldn’t help but know it. I saw it in her films before I even knew her. But knowing her, and witnessing firsthand her process as she prepared for a role, marking up her scripts with notes for emphasis, inflection and motivation, was a testament to the unbridled talent that she was.

My relationship with Anne was not about work, not about acting, or filmmaking, or photography.

Anne was my friend. She was radiant in a way that so few are. When she looked at you and smiled, the world fell into the background. Her energy was infectious, warm, and lit up whatever room we were in. Now that I think about it, she didn’t just smile, she beamed, and her light was blinding. Her fire burned intensely but all too briefly.

Man, I really miss that smile, seeing her name pop up on my phone, talking with her about everything and nothing, and hearing her scratchy voice.

Editor-in-Chief: Derek Warburton | Editor at Large: Heather Duffy | Official Photographs: Rowan Daly | Art Direction: Myrrh Fae Fernan | Managing Editor: Cyan Leigh Dacasin | Edited by Ley Calisang

FOR MORE ON ANNE:
This memoir by Anne Heche is as personal as it gets, offering a peek inside the mind of the late Emmy-award-winning actress, director and author of the New York Times bestseller Call Me Crazy.
Call Me Anne is the sequel to Heche’s first book, Call Me Crazy. It is a memoir consisting 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, and more. Part memoir and part self-acceptance workbook, Anne’s personal stories are interwoven with poems, prompts, and exercises that got Anne through tough times. Readers are encouraged to try them as they navigate their own journey to self-love, acceptance, forgiveness, and faith.
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