US Actress

The 53-year-old had been in a coma for a week after crashing her car into a house in Los Angeles.

"Today we lost a bright light, a kind and most joyful soul", her family said in a statement on Friday.

Heche appeared in films including Volcano, Donnie Brasco and the 1998 remake of Psycho.

The mother-of-two also appeared on Dancing with the Stars, the US equivalent of Strictly Come Dancing, in 2020.

Her agent and close friend Jeff Witjas told People magazine in a statement.

At 99, she was just weeks away from celebrating her 100th birthday on Jan. 17.

"Even though Betty was about to be 100, I thought she would live forever," Witjas said. "I will miss her terribly and so will the animal world that she loved so much. I don't think Betty ever feared passing because she always wanted to be with her most beloved husband Allen Ludden. She believed she would be with him again."

CNN has reached out to Witjas for comment.

Applegate first found fame as a child actress on US sitcom Married... With Children and won an Emmy for playing Rachel's sister Amy in Friends.

"It's been a strange journey. But I have been so supported by people that I know who also have this condition," Applegate tweeted on Tuesday.

She asked for "privacy" as "I go through this thing".

The Dead To Me actress added: "It's been a tough road. But as we all know, the road keeps on going. Unless [someone] tries to block it."