Anne Heche: 'sane' in the brain

By M&C News Jul 20, 2006, 15:13 GMT

Anne Heche - 2006 ABC Arrivals - Lincoln Center - New York, NY © Janet Mayer / Photorazzi

The recent Television Critics Association's summer tour in Pasadena, Calif. showcases the upcoming network slates for the smallscreen. 

New ABC show, Men in Trees had their press tour session last Wednesday afternoon, with critics asking the tough questions to actress and series lead Anne Heche.

Heche was notably linked with Ellen DeGeneres, and in her autobiography, Call Me Crazy, Heche stated she was mentally ill for the first 31 years of her life after being sexually abused by her father, who died of AIDS in 1983. She also claimed to have an alter ego that was the daughter of God and half-sibling of Jesus named "Celestia," who communed with extraterrestrial life forms.

Prior to her split with DeGeneres, she was contacted by "God" and told He would walk with her for seven days.

Heche had no problem answering the pointed questions regarding her mental well-being.

According to Christopher Lisotta of TV Week Blog, an intrepid unnamed reporter asked for a “status report” on how Heche was “doing.”

“It seems like you’re totally …,” he paused, searching for the most respectful word.

“Sane?” Heche suggested.

“Sane,” he confirmed, with more than a little relief that Heche herself had said it.

“I’ll let myself speak for myself,” she said confidently. “Obviously I’m sitting up here with a group of incredible people.

“I’ve worked very hard to get here,” she said. The exchange chronicled by reporter Lisotta for TV Week blog.

Heche’s new show profiles a New York self-help book writer (Heche) who finds herself in a male-dominated small town in Alaska after she breaks up with her fiancé.

In 2002, Heche had a son, Homer Heche Laffoon, with cameraman Coleman Laffoon.