- Anne Heche was a celebrated actress.
- She had two sons from two different relationships.
- Anne tragically died in a violent car crash in August of 2022. Her eldest son, Homer, is locked in a battle over her estate with the father of her second son.
Anne Heche died following a horrific car crash in Los Angeles on August 5. After being in a coma, she was declared legally dead on Aug. 12 at the age of 53. The Six Days, Seven Nights star was driving and smashed into a residential home, engulfing both the vehicle and home in flames. It took firefighters over an hour to “access, confine and fully extinguish the stubborn flames within the heavily damaged structure,” the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement after the crash. “She has severe burns and has a long recovery ahead. Her team and her family are still trying to process what led up to the crash.”
In the wake of the news, HollywoodLife is taking a closer look at Anne’s life. She first rose to fame working on the soap opera Another World from 1987 to 1991, earning a Daytime Emmy Award for her dual role of twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love. She then jumped from the small screen to the big screen, starring in a string of hits in the ’90s such as Volcano, Wag the Dog and Donnie Brasco. However, it was her highly publicized romance with Ellen DeGeneres that made her a household name. Ther pair dated from 1997 to 2000.
More recently, Anne was seen in The Vanished with Thomas Jane, the TV cop drama Chicago P.D. and The Weeknd’s HBO show The Idol, starring Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp.
Anne’s personal life was just as successful as her Hollywood one. The star was the proud mother of two amazing sons. Let’s find out more about her boys named Homer and Atlas, below.
Homer
Rumors flew that Anne left Ellen for cameraman Coleman Laffoon, as they met while he worked on Ellen’s comedy tour. Whatever the case, the pair would go on to marry on September 1, 2001. After five and a half years of marriage, the couple split and a bitter divorce ensued, including a custody battle over their son Homer, whom they welcomed in 2002. A judge ruled that Anne must pay $275,000 to her ex-husband, along with monthly child-support payments of $3,700 for the care of Homer. The couple agreed to split the cost of any “agreed upon extracurricular activities” for their son, according to court documents.
Over two months after Anne’s death, Homer asked a court for more access over Anne’s assets, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE. The outlet reported that the 20-year-old’s attorney filed documents in the Superior Court of California in Los Angeles County on Oct. 20, 2022, requesting “the Court to expand the authority” so he can “take possession of property and other assets of [Heche’s] Estate.”
Homer’s attorney Bryan L. Phipps said he needs to be able to remove all of her items from her condo, which was only paid through October, “to avoid addition fees and costs and, ultimately, potential loss,” per the documents. The documents also reportedly claim that Anne had several checks addressed to her that she never deposited, which Homer will need to deposit before they become “voided.”
Homer would also be able to protect the property Anne left behind “from damage, waste, and injury,” and receive any claims and rents that would come to her, the outlet further reported. He could also “manage, perform, and enforce the rights and interests of [Anne] and the Estate regarding the publication agreement and forthcoming book by [Anne].”
Finally, Homer reportedly asked for a bond of $800,000 and access his mother’s financial records. Anne’s ex James Tupper, the father of her second son, previously objected to Homer’s request to “expand his authority” over the estate, per PEOPLE. However, on October 26, the outlet reported they’d obtained documents indicating that Homer was granted “special powers” to take control over her estate and to “take possession” of her personal property and “preserve it from damage, waste, and injury” — meaning he must move it to a storage facility and inventory within a matter of five days. He also has power to protect her “interests” regarding her upcoming book.
Homer was ultimately given legal guardianship over his brother Atlas Tupper in October, and on November 30, 2022, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted him permanent control over his late mother’s estate.
“We believe the court reached the correct result this morning, both legally and equitably, and are glad to have this phase of the process behind us,” Homer’s lawyer told HollywoodLife in a statement at the time. “With Mr. Tupper’s allegations and objections now resolved, we are hopeful the administration of the Estate can proceed without unnecessary complication.”
Atlas
Anne met actor James Tupper on the set of Men in Trees in 2006 while she was still married to Coleman. Eyebrows were raised when Anne filed for divorce from Coleman and soon began dating James. The couple moved in together in 2007 and confirmed that they were expecting a child in December 2008. Anne and James named their bundle of joy Atlas, after a Greek god who held up the heavens. Although they were together for more than a decade, the pair never married and eventually split in 2018. Little is known about Atlas, as he is very private, but since Anne’s death, his father has been in a legal dispute with Atlas’ half-brother Homer over Anne’s assets. Although a judge granted guardianship of Atlas to Homer and said that Anne’s assets will be divided equally between them, the dispute is over who will be the administrator of the estate.