Heche is the youngest of five, but her sister Abigail is her only surviving sibling. Her sister Cynthia died of a heart defect in infancy. Her father Donald died of AIDS aged 45 in March 1983. Her brother Nathan died in a car crash aged 18 in June 1983. Her sister, Susan Bergman, died aged 48 in January 2006. Heche and her mother, Nancy, have been estranged ever since Heche confronted her about the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her father. Since her husband's death from AIDS, Nancy Heche has been a Christian therapist and motivational speaker. She lectures on behalf of James Dobson's "Focus on the Family" about "overcoming" homosexuality.