title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2002, Banks set up her own production company called Brownstone Productions with her future husband, Max Handelman.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks gained more prominent widespread exposure with her role in the 2005 comedy film "The 40-Year-Old Virgin". In August 2005, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Banks starred in William Inge's "Bus Stop" as Cherie, the sexy blonde aspiring nightclub singer. Jeffrey Borak wrote that Banks' portrayal was acted "with poise, clarity and a shrewd feel for Cherie's complexities. Her performance is all of a piece and in harmony, stylistically, with the performances around her." In 2005, she appeared on the series "Stella", and in May 2006, she had a role in the season five finale of the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" as Dr. Kim Briggs, the love interest of J.D. (Zach Braff). Banks appeared throughout seasons six, seven, and eight as a recurring guest star.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2006, Banks appeared in the American football drama film "Invincible", in which she played Mark Wahlberg's love interest. Later, she and co-star Wahlberg were nominated for the "Best Kiss" award at the MTV Movie Awards. That same year, she landed the starring role in the comedy-horror film "Slither".


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2007, Banks played the female lead in the comedy film "Meet Bill", alongside Aaron Eckhart and Jessica Alba. That same year, she had a small role as Santa's little helper, Charlyne, in the Christmas comedy film "Fred Claus", co-starring Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti. In 2008, she played the ex-wife and mother of the daughter of Ryan Reynolds lead in the comedy film "Definitely, Maybe", alongside Isla Fisher and Ryan Reynolds, starred with Seth Rogen as the eponymous female lead in the Kevin Smith comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno", and played United States First Lady Laura Bush in "W.", Oliver Stone's biopic of George W. Bush.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2009, Banks appeared in the horror film "The Uninvited", a remake of the South Korean film "A Tale of Two Sisters". The film was about an intrusive stepmother who makes life miserable for the teen daughters of her new husband. Banks based her character, Rachel, on Rebecca De Mornay's character in "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle". "It was very important to me that every line reading I gave could be interpreted two ways," says Banks of her role, "So that when you go back through the movie you can see that".


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks is a frequent co-star of actor Paul Rudd, the two having appeared in five films together to date ("Wet Hot American Summer", "The Baxter", "The 40-Year-Old Virgin", "Role Models", and "Our Idiot Brother"). She is also a frequent co-star of actor Tobey Maguire, the two having also appeared in five films together ("Spider-Man", "Seabiscuit", "Spider-Man 2", "Spider-Man 3", and "The Details").


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks was cast as a love interest for Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) in the fourth season of the Emmy Award-winning sitcom "30 Rock". Intended to appear in four episodes in 2010, Banks went on to become a recurring character with 13 appearances by the end of the fifth season, including her marriage in the episode "Mrs. Donaghy". Her performance in season five earned her a nomination for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for the 63rd Primetime Emmy Awards.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2012, Banks starred in the romantic comedy film "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and the action film "Man on a Ledge". She also starred as Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the musical comedy film "Pitch Perfect", which became a critical and commercial success. The next year she directed and starred in separate segments of "Movie 43", a critically-panned comedy anthology film.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks starred in the science fiction adventure film "The Hunger Games" (2012), playing Effie Trinket, a woman from "The Capitol" who escorts the District 12 tributes to the annual Hunger Games. She went on to reprise the role in the sequel films "" (2013), "" (2014), and "" (2015). Banks co-starred in the 2014 movie "Every Secret Thing", playing Detective Nancy Porter investigating the disappearance of a young child with similarities to a case she had previously been involved with. The same year, she provided the voice of the Master Builder Wyldstyle in the Warner Bros. animated film "The Lego Movie".


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2014, Banks was recognized by "Elle" Magazine during The Women in Hollywood Awards, honoring women for their outstanding achievements in film, spanning all aspects of the motion picture industry, including acting, directing, and producing.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: After producing and starring in the film "Pitch Perfect", Banks directed its sequel, "Pitch Perfect 2" (2015), making her feature directorial debut. She also co-produced and starred in both "Pitch Perfect 2" and the next sequel, "Pitch Perfect 3" (2017).


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks portrayed Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, the wife of Brian Wilson, in the 2015 biopic "Love & Mercy", which is based on the life of the musician and founding member of The Beach Boys, as portrayed by John Cusack.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2015, she was named as a member of the Jury for the Main Competition at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. The festival was chaired by Alfonso Cuarón. Also in 2015, Banks became a spokeswoman for Realtor.com in their series of television commercials. As of mid-February 2016, Banks became the commercial face of Old Navy. She also played space alien Rita Repulsa in the 2017 "Power Rangers" reboot film.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In 2018, Banks co-starred as Jenny in the comedy film "The Happytime Murders", alongside Melissa McCarthy and Maya Rudolph. In 2019, she reprised her starring role as Lucy / Wyldstyle in the animated comedy film "". She then starred as Tori Breyer in the superhero horror film "Brightburn".


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: On May 2, 2019, ABC announced Banks as the host of the summer 2019 revival of the game show "Press Your Luck", which she also executive produces. Banks directed, produced, wrote, and starred as Bosley in the action comedy film "Charlie's Angels", which was released in November 2019. In 2020, she starred as feminist Jill Ruckelshaus in the FX miniseries "Mrs. America".


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In November 2019, it was announced that Banks was set to star in, direct, and produce a new adaptation of "The Invisible Woman" (1940), based on her own original story pitch. Erin Cressida Wilson will write the script for the reboot of the female monster, while Max Handelman and Alison Small will serve as producer and executive producer, respectively.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In February 2020, Banks was allowed to choose a project by Universal Pictures from the roster of Universal Monsters, ultimately choosing "The Invisible Woman". In June 2020, it was announced Banks would star as Ms. Frizzle in a live-action/animated hybrid of "The Magic School Bus", for which she will also produce through her company Brownstone Productions.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In March 2021, it was announced that Banks would direct the upcoming thriller film "Cocaine Bear", which she will produce alongside Max Handelman for Brownstone Productions, and Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. In May 2021, Peacock announced that Banks will direct and star in the upcoming television series "Red Queen", based on the dystopian novel of the same name.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: In January 2022, Banks was cast in the upcoming film "The Beanie Bubble", co-directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks met her husband, Max Handelman, a sportswriter and producer from Portland, Oregon, on her first day of college on September 7, 1992. They were married in 2003 and have two sons, born via surrogacy.


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks went through parts of conversion to Judaism, her husband's faith, and studied with rabbis. In 2013, speaking of her religion, she stated that she practices Judaism, though "I did not have my "mikveh", so, technically, I'm not converted," but that she has "been essentially a Jew for like 15 years," adding "Frankly, because I'm already doing everything [practicing religious rituals], I feel like I'm as Jewish as I'm ever going to be."


title: Elizabeth Banks

text: Banks was a vocal supporter of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and was involved in a rendition of Rachel Platten's single "Fight Song" with other celebrities at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. She has stated she is a feminist. In September 2020, Banks urged her Instagram followers to contact VoteRiders to get information and assistance with voter ID. That same month, she used her social media presence to participate in the VoteRiders #IDCheck Challenge to help spread the word about voter ID requirements for the upcoming presidential election.


title: Human penis size

text: Human penises vary in size on a number of measures, including length and circumference when flaccid and erect. Besides the natural variability of human penises in general, there are factors that lead to minor variations in a particular male, such as the level of arousal, time of day, room temperature, anxiety level, sport activity and frequency of sexual activity. Compared to other primates, including large examples such as the gorilla, the human penis is thickest, both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the body.


title: Human penis size

text: Measurements vary, with studies that rely on self-measurement reporting a significantly higher average than those with a health professional measuring. , a systematic review of 15,521 men, who were measured by health professionals rather than themselves, concluded that the average length of an erect human penis is 13.12 cm (5.17 inches) long, while the average circumference of an erect human penis is 11.66 cm (4.59 inches). Flaccid penis length can sometimes be a poor predictor of erect length.


title: Human penis size

text: Most human penis growth occurs between infancy and the age of five, and between about one year after the onset of puberty and, at latest, approximately 17 years of age.


title: Human penis size

text: Limited to no statistically significant correlation between penis size and the size of other body parts has been found in research. Some environmental factors in addition to genetics, such as the presence of endocrine disruptors, can affect penis growth. An adult penis with an erect length of less than , but otherwise formed normally, is referred to in medicine as a micropenis.


title: Human penis size

text: While results vary slightly across reputable studies, the consensus is that the mean human penis, when erect, is in the range in length.


title: Human penis size

text: A 2015 systematic review published by Veale et al. of medical research on the topic over the previous 30 years published in "BJU International" showed similar results, giving mean flaccid, stretched non-erect, and erect lengths of 9.16 cm, 13.24 cm, and 13.12 cm respectively, and mean flaccid and erect circumferences of 9.31 cm and 11.66 cm respectively. Erect lengths in the included studies were measured by pushing the pre-pubic fat pad to the bone, and flaccid or erect girth (circumference) was measured at the base or mid-shaft of the penis.


title: Human penis size

text: One study (published in 1996) found the mean flaccid penis length to be (measured by staff). A review of several studies found average flaccid length to be . Length of the flaccid penis does not necessarily correspond to length of the erect penis; some smaller flaccid penises grow much longer, while some larger flaccid penises grow comparatively less.


title: Human penis size

text: The penis and scrotum can contract involuntarily in reaction to cold temperatures, anxious or nervous level and participation in sports. This decrease of flaccid penis size is referred to by the slang term "shrinkage", due to action by the cremaster muscle. The same phenomenon affects cyclists and exercise bike users, with prolonged pressure on the perineum from the bicycle saddle and the straining of the exercise causing the penis and scrotum to contract involuntarily. An incorrect saddle may ultimately cause erectile dysfunction (see crotch pressure for more information). Individuals with hard flaccid syndrome or other pelvic floor disorders may temporarily have an abnormally small penis.


title: Human penis size

text: Neither age nor size of the flaccid penis accurately predicted erectile length. Stretched length has correlated with erect length in some cases. However, studies have also shown drastic differences between stretched and erect length. One study found that a minimal tension force of approximately 450 g during stretching of the penis was required to reach a full potential erection length. This study also found that tension forces exerted in this study by the urologist were shown to be significantly (P<0.01) lower than 450g. This may account for differences between stretched and erect length.


title: Human penis size

text: Scientific studies have been performed on the erect length of the adult penis. Studies that have relied on self-measurement, including those from Internet surveys, consistently reported a higher average length than those that used medical or scientific methods to obtain measurements.


title: Human penis size

text: The following staff-measured studies are composed of different subgroups of the human population (in other words, specific age range or race; selection of those with sexual medical concerns or self-selection) that could cause a sample bias.


title: Human penis size

text: Similar results exist regarding studies of the circumference of the adult fully erect penis, with the measurement usually taken mid-shaft. As with length, studies that relied on self-measurement consistently reported a significantly higher average than those with staff measuring. In a study of penis size where measurements were taken in a laboratory setting, the average penis circumference when erect was 11.66 cm (4.59 inches).


title: Human penis size

text: The average stretched penile length at birth is about , and 90% of newborn boys will be between . Limited growth of the penis occurs between birth and 5 years of age, but very little occurs between 5 years and the onset of puberty. The average size at the beginning of puberty is with adult size reached about 5 years later. W.A. Schonfeld published a penis growth curve in 1943.


title: Human penis size

text: Authors of a paper reviewing research on area of penis sizes conclude that "flaccid penile length is just under at birth and changes very little until puberty, when there is marked growth."


title: Human penis size

text: Age is not believed to negatively correlate with penis size. "Individual research studies have... suggested that penis size is smaller in studies focusing on older men, but Wylie and Eardley found no overall differences when they collated the results of various studies [over a 60 year period]."


title: Human penis size

text: A 2015 review of the literature found two studies finding height and stretched or flaccid length to be moderately correlated, seven studies finding weak correlation for flaccid, stretched, or erect length, and two studies that found no correlation between flaccid length and height.


title: Human penis size

text: One study investigated the relationship with digit ratio and found that men with longer ring fingers than index fingers had slightly longer penises. However, the common misconception that hand size predicts penis size has been widely discredited.


title: Human penis size

text: One study, Siminoski and Bain (1988), found a weak correlation between the size of the stretched penis and foot size and height; however, it was too weak to be used as a practical estimator. Another investigation, Shah and Christopher (2002), which cited Siminoski and Bain (1988), failed to find any evidence for a link between shoe size and stretched penis size, stating "the supposed association of penile length and shoe size has no scientific basis".


title: Human penis size

text: A study by Ikegaya et al. (2021) concluded that nose size was highly related to stretched penile length in Japanese male cadavers.


title: Human penis size

text: There may be a link between the malformation of the genitalia and the human limbs. The development of the penis in an embryo is controlled by some of the same Hox genes (in particular HOXA13 and HOXD13) as those that control the development of the limbs. Mutations of some Hox genes that control the growth of limbs cause malformed genitalia (hand-foot-genital syndrome).


title: Human penis size

text: A 2005 study reported that "there is no scientific background to support the alleged 'oversized' penis in black people".


title: Human penis size

text: A study of 253 men from Tanzania found that the average stretched flaccid penis length of Tanzanian males is 11.5 cm (4.53 inches) long, smaller than the worldwide average, stretched flaccid penis length of 13.24 cm (5.21 inches), and average erect penis length of 13.12 cm (5.17 inches).


title: Human penis size

text: A 2016 study of 248 Korean men identified the average erect penis length to be . A study of 115 men from Nigeria found that the average flaccid stretched penis length of Nigerian males is 13.37 cm (5.26 inches) long, which is near identical to the worldwide average, stretched flaccid penis length of 13.24 cm (5.21 inches) and average erect penis length of 13.12 cm (5.17 inches).


title: Human penis size

text: A 2014 American study by Herbenick et al. of 1,661 sexually active men involving Asian American, Black American, White American, Pacific Islander/Hawaiian, and Native American men, found average


title: Human penis size

text: racial differences in erect penile length and circumference to be generally less than one centimeter, with averages in length being: 14.14 cm (5.56 inches) for Asian Americans, 14.66 cm (5.77 inches) for Black Americans, 14.88 cm (5.85 inches) for Pacific Islanders/Hawaiians, 12.86 cm for Native Americans (5.06 inches), and 14.18 cm (5.58 inches) for White Americans (And in circumference: Asians 12.10 cm, Blacks 12.29 cm, Pacific Islanders 11.88 cm, Native Americans 11.36 cm, and Whites 12.25 cm).


title: Human penis size

text: A 2015 systematic review of 15,521 men found "no indications of differences in racial variability", and stated that it was not possible to draw any conclusions about size and race from the available literature and that further research needed to be conducted.


title: Human penis size

text: According to Aaron Spitz, a urologist, many websites and studies promoting variation of penis size between races use unscientific methods of collecting information and often ignore contradictory evidence. He concludes that "when you really take a good look at the naked data, there’s not a whole lot there [showing racial variation in penis size]."


title: Human penis size

text: In a 1994 cover story by "Psychology Today", 1,500 readers (about two-thirds women) were surveyed about male body image. Many of the women were not particularly concerned with penis size, and over 71% thought men overemphasized the importance of penis size and shape. Generally, the women polled cared more about width than men thought, and less about length than men thought, although the strength of caring for either among women showed a similar pattern.


title: Human penis size

text: In a small study conducted by University of Texas–Pan American and published in 2001 in "BMC Women's Health", 50 undergraduate women were surveyed by two popular male athletes on campus about their perceptions of sexual satisfaction and it was concluded that the width of a penis feels better than the length of a penis, when subjects are asked to choose between the two (size was left unspecified). It was also concluded that this may show that penis size overall affects sexual satisfaction since women chose between the two options they were given.


title: Human penis size

text: A study published in 2002, conducted at Groningen University Hospital, asked 375 sexually active women (who had recently given birth) the importance of penis size. The results showed that 21% of women felt length was important and 32% felt that girth was important.


title: Human penis size

text: A study conducted at the Australian National University, published in early 2013, showed that penis size influences a man's sex appeal, and the taller the man, the bigger the effect. The study showed 3D computer generated images at life-size, altering the height and other physical attributes, with women typically registering preferences in under 3 seconds. A preference for taller men's larger penis size was indicated.


title: Human penis size

text: A US study published in 2015 of the stated preferences of a panel of 75 women using 3D-printed models as scale references showed a preferred penis length of 16 cm (6.3 inches) and a preferred circumference of 12.2 cm for long-term sexual partners, with slightly larger preferred sizes of a length of 16.3 cm (6.4 inches) and circumference of 12.7 cm for one-time sexual encounters.


title: Human penis size

text: According to the study, however, when asked to estimate the length of their partners's penis, most women would say a size significantly smaller than what their partner was recorded to be. This suggests that perception of size is not entirely accurate. The visual impression of the size is not necessarily in correlation with the feeling in the vulva and vagina. A very long penis can cause dispareunia, if the man doesn't understand how to use it carefully.


title: Human penis size

text: One Australian study of 184 men looked at penis length and circumference in relationship to condom breakage or slippage. 3,658 condoms were used. The study found that when used correctly, condoms had a breakage rate of 1.34% and a slippage rate of 2.05%, for a total failure rate of 3.39%. Penile dimensions did not influence slippage, although penis circumference and broken condoms were strongly correlated, with larger sizes increasing the rate of breakage.


title: Human penis size

text: Androgens like testosterone are responsible for penis enlargement and elongation during puberty. Penis size is positively correlated with increasing testosterone levels during puberty. But after puberty, administration of testosterone does not affect penis size, and androgen deficiency in adult men only results in a small decrease in size. Growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) are also involved in penis size, with deficiency (such as that observed in growth hormone deficiency or Laron syndrome) at critical developmental stages having the potential to result in micropenis.


title: Human penis size

text: There are certain genes, like homeobox (Hox a and d) genes, which may have a role in regulating penis size. In humans, the AR gene, located on the X chromosome at Xq11-12, may affect penis size. The SRY gene located on the Y chromosome may have a role to play. Variance in size can often be attributed to "de novo" mutations. Deficiency of pituitary growth hormone or gonadotropins or mild degrees of androgen insensitivity can cause small penis size in males and can be addressed with growth hormone or testosterone treatment in early childhood.


title: Human penis size

text: An adult penis with an erect length of less than 7 cm or 2.76 inches but otherwise formed normally is referred to in a medical context as having the micropenis condition. The condition affects 0.6% of men. Some of the identifiable causes are deficiency of pituitary growth hormone or gonadotropins, mild degrees of androgen insensitivity, a variety of genetic syndromes and variations in certain homeobox genes. Some types of micropenis can be addressed with growth hormone or testosterone treatment in early childhood. Operations are also available to increase penis size in cases of micropenis in adults.


title: Human penis size

text: It has been suggested that differences in penis size between individuals are caused not only by genetics, but also by environmental factors such as culture, diet and chemical or pollution exposure. Endocrine disruption resulting from chemical exposure has been linked to genital deformation in both sexes (among many other problems). Chemicals from both synthetic (e.g., pesticides, anti-bacterial triclosan, plasticizers for plastics) and natural (e.g., chemicals found in tea tree oil and lavender oil) sources have been linked to various degrees of endocrine disruption.


title: Human penis size

text: Both PCBs and the plasticizer DEHP have been associated with smaller penis size. DEHP metabolites measured from the urine of pregnant women have been significantly associated with the decreased penis width, shorter anogenital distance and the incomplete descent of testicles of their newborn sons, replicating effects identified in animals. According to a 2008 study published by the US National Library of Medicine, approximately 25% of US women have phthalate levels similar to those observed in animals.


title: Human penis size

text: A 2007 study by the University of Ankara, Faculty of Medicine found that penile size may decrease as a result of some hormonal therapy combined with external beam radiation therapy. In addition, some estrogen-based fertility drugs like diethylstilbestrol (DES) have been linked to genital abnormalities or a smaller than normal penis (microphallus).


title: Human penis size

text: Perceptions of penis size are culture-specific. Some prehistoric sculptures and petroglyphs depict male figures with exaggerated erect penises. Ancient Egyptian cultural and artistic conventions generally prevented large penises from being shown in art, as they were considered obscene, but the scruffy, balding male figures in the Turin Erotic Papyrus are shown with exaggeratedly large genitals. The Egyptian god Geb is sometimes shown with a massive erect penis and the god Min is almost always shown with an erection.


title: Human penis size

text: The males of ancient Greece believed that small penises were ideal. Scholars believe that most ancient Greeks probably had roughly the same size penises as most other Europeans, but Greek artistic portrayals of handsome youths show them with inordinately small, uncircumcised penises with disproportionately large foreskins, indicating that these were seen as ideal. Large penises in Greek art are reserved exclusively for comically grotesque figures, such as satyrs, a class of hideous, horse-like woodland spirits, who are shown in Greek art with absurdly massive penises. Actors portraying male characters in ancient Greek comedy wore enormous, fake, red penises, which dangled underneath their costumes; these were intended as ridiculous and were meant to be laughed at.


title: Human penis size

text: In Aristophanes's comedy "The Clouds", "Mr. Good Reason" gives the character Pheidippides a description of the ideal youth: "A glistening chest and glowing skin / Broad shoulders, a small tongue /A mighty bottom and a tiny prong." In Greek mythology, Priapus, the god of fertility, had an impossibly large penis that was always permanently erect. Priapus was widely seen as hideous and unattractive. A "scholion" on Apollonius of Rhodes's "Argonautica" states that, when Priapus's mother Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty, gave birth to him, she was so horrified by the size of his penis, his massive potbelly, and his huge tongue that she abandoned him to die in the wilderness. A herdsman found him and raised him as his son, later discovering that Priapus could use his massive penis to aid in the growth of plants.


title: Human penis size

text: Nonetheless, there are indications that the Greeks had an open mind about large penises. A statue of the god Hermes with an exaggerated penis stood outside the main gate of Athens and in Alexandria in 275 BC, a procession in honor of Dionysus hauled a 180-foot phallus through the city and people venerated it by singing hymns and reciting poems. The Romans, in contrast to the Greeks, seem to have admired large penises and large numbers of large phalli have been recovered from the ruins of Pompeii. Depictions of Priapus were very popular in Roman erotic art and literature. Over eighty obscene poems dedicated to him have survived.


title: Human penis size

text: Ancient Chinese legend holds that a man named Lao Ai had the largest penis in history and that he had an affair with Queen Dowager Zhao ( 280–228 BC), the mother of Qin Shi Huang, by pretending to be a eunuch. Ancient Koreans admired large penises and King Jijeung (437–514 AD) of the Silla Dynasty is said to have had a forty-five-centimeter penis that was so large his subordinates had to search for a woman that fit him. Traditional Japanese erotic paintings usually show genitals as exaggeratedly large. The oldest known painting of this type, found in the Hōryū-ji Temple in Ikaruga, dates to the eighth century AD and depicts a fairly large penis.


title: Human penis size

text: The ancient Indian sexual treatise "Kama Sutra", originally written in Sanskrit, probably between the second and fourth centuries AD, divides men into three classes based on penis size: "hare" size (about 5–7 cm, or 2–3 inches, when erect), "bull" size (10–15 cm, or 4–6 inches), and "horse" size (18–20 cm, or 7–8 inches). The treatise also divides women's vaginas into three sizes ("deer", "mare", and "elephant") and advises that a man match the size of the vagina of the woman he is having sex with to the size of his own penis. It also gives medically dubious advice on how to enlarge one's penis using wasp stings.


title: Human penis size

text: In medieval Arabic literature, a longer penis was preferred, as described in an "Arabian Nights" tale called "Ali with the Large Member". As a witty satire of this fantasy, the 9th-century Afro-Arab author Al-Jahiz wrote: "If the length of the penis were a sign of honor, then the mule would belong to the Quraysh" (the tribe to which Muhammad belonged and from which he descended).


title: Human penis size

text: The medieval Norsemen considered the size of a man's penis as the measure of his manliness, and a thirteenth-century Norse magic talisman from Bergen, a wooden stave inscribed with writing in runic script, promises its wearer: "You will fuck Rannveig the Red. It will be bigger than a man's prick and smaller than a horse's prick." A late fourteenth century account of the life of Saint Óláfr from the "Flateyjarbók" describes a pagan ritual which centered around a preserved horse's penis used as a cult artifact which members of the cult would pass around in a circle, making up verses in praise of it, encouraging it and the other members of the group to behave in sexually suggestive ways.


title: Human penis size

text: During the Renaissance, some men in Europe began to wear codpieces, which accentuated their genitals. There is no direct evidence that it was necessarily worn to enhance the apparent size of the wearer's penis, but larger codpieces were seen as more fashionable.


title: Human penis size

text: Males may quite easily underestimate the size of their own penis relative to those of others. A survey by sexologists showed that many men who believed that their penis was of inadequate size had average-sized penises. Another study found sex education of standard penile measurements to be helpful and relieving for patients concerned about small penis size, most of whom had incorrect beliefs of what is considered medically normal. The study found that almost all of their patients that were concerned about their penis size overestimated the average penis size. The perception of having a large penis is often linked to higher self-esteem. Fears of shrinking of the penis in folklore have led to a type of mass hysteria called penis panic, though the penis legitimately can shrink in size due to scar tissue formation in the penis from a medical condition called Peyronie's disease. Marketers of penis enlargement products exploit fears of inadequacy, but there is no consensus in the scientific community of any non-surgical technique that permanently increases either the thickness or length of the erect penis that already falls into the normal range.


title: Human penis size

text: Widespread private concerns related to penis size have led to a number of folklore sayings and popular culture reflections related to penis size. Penis panic is a form of mass hysteria involving the believed removal or shrinking of the penis, known as genital retraction syndrome. The penis can significantly shrink due to scar tissue formation from a condition called Peyronie's disease which affects up to 10% of men. Products such as penis pumps, pills, and other dubious means of penis enlargement are some of the most marketed products in email spam. At present there is no consensus in the scientific community of any non-surgical technique that permanently increases either the thickness or length of the erect penis that already falls into the normal range (4.5" to 7").


title: Human penis size

text: A study undertaken at Utrecht University found that the majority of gay men in the study regarded a large penis as ideal, and having one was linked to self-esteem. One study analysing the self-reported Kinsey data set found that the average penis of a homosexual man was larger than the average penis of their heterosexual counterparts (6.32 inches [16.05 cm] in length amongst gay men versus 5.99 in [15.21 cm] in heterosexuals, and 4.95 inches [12.57 cm] circumference amongst gay men versus 4.80 in [12.19 cm] in heterosexual men).


title: Human penis size

text: The human penis is thicker than that of any other primate, both in absolute terms and relative to the rest of the body. Early research, based on inaccurate measurements, concluded that the human penis was also longer. In fact, the penis of the common chimpanzee is no shorter than in humans, averaging 14.4 cm (5.7 inches), and some other primates have comparable penis sizes relative to their body weight.


title: Human penis size

text: The evolutionary reasons for the increased thickness have not been established. One explanation is that thicker penises are an adaptation to a corresponding increase in vaginal size. The vaginal canal is believed to have expanded in humans to accommodate the larger size of a newborn's skull. Women may then have sexually selected men with penises large enough to fit their vagina, to provide sexual stimulation and ensure ejaculation.


title: Human penis size

text: Other evolutionary hypotheses to explain humans' relatively large penis length and girth include a sperm competition hypothesis and a mate competition hypothesis. The sperm competition hypothesis does not have much support as in other mammals where sperm competition is present, larger testes evolve, not larger penises. The mate competition hypothesis involves the prediction that a human with a larger penis would be able to displace the sperm of another. Studies have found that larger penises do not displace other sperm more effectively than smaller penises, but rather longer penises may ejaculate sperm inside the vagina in places that would be harder for a following penis to displace. The depth of pelvic thrusting was correlated to the displacement of competing sperm.


title: Anne Heche

text: Anne Celeste Heche ( ; May 25, 1969August 11, 2022) was an American actress, known for her roles in a variety of genres in film, television, and theater, receiving numerous accolades, including a National Board of Review Award and multiple Emmy Awards.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche's professional acting career began on the soap opera "Another World" (1987–1991) portraying the twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love, for which she received a Daytime Emmy Award in 1991. Her acting profile rose during the first half of the 1990s, gaining particular attention for her co-starring role in the independent film "Walking and Talking" (1996) and for her standout supporting role in the crime drama "Donnie Brasco" (1997). Further high-profile roles followed in 1997, including "Volcano", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and "Wag the Dog". In 1998, Heche further rose to prominence with her leading role in the romantic comedy "Six Days, Seven Nights" opposite Harrison Ford. Also in 1998, she starred in Gus Van Sant's shot-for-shot remake of "Psycho".


title: Anne Heche

text: From 1999 to 2001, Heche took fewer acting roles and concentrated on directing projects, most notably a segment of the HBO anthology film "If These Walls Could Talk 2" (2000). Her acting roles from the 2000s onward focused on independent films, TV series, and some stage roles. In 2004, she was nominated for a Tony Award for her role in the Broadway revival of the play "Twentieth Century" and a Primetime Emmy Award for the television film "Gracie's Choice", also starring in an acclaimed supporting role in the supernatural drama "Birth". Other film roles included "Cedar Rapids" (2011), "Catfight" (2016), and "My Friend Dahmer" (2017). Heche also starred in a number of dramatic television series, including "Men in Trees" (2006–2008) and "Hung" (2009–2011). In 2020, she appeared as a contestant in the 29th season of "Dancing with the Stars".


title: Anne Heche

text: Events in Heche's personal life often upstaged her acting career. From 1997 to 2000, she was in a high-profile same-sex relationship with comedian Ellen DeGeneres, sometimes described as "the first gay supercouple". Immediately following her split with DeGeneres in 2000, she had a highly publicized psychotic break in which she appeared at a rural ranch house outside of Fresno, California claiming to be an entity named "Celestia" who would take humanity to heaven in a spaceship. In 2001, she published a memoir titled "Call Me Crazy" that alleged extensive childhood sexual abuse by her father. On August 5, 2022, Heche was critically injured when she crashed her car into a house at high speed. She died at a hospital in Los Angeles on August 11, 2022.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche was born on May 25, 1969, in Aurora, Ohio, the youngest of five children of Donald "Don" Joe Heche and Nancy Heche (née Prickett). During Anne's early childhood, the Heche family lived in various towns in the suburbs of Cleveland and Akron, Ohio. Her parents were fundamentalist Christians and the family was raised in a deeply religious environment, a situation that she later likened to being "raised in a cult". At the same time, Don Heche led an unstable lifestyle, often changing professions and prone to frequent get-rich-quick schemes, though also with a real gift for music that led to jobs as a choir director in several churches. Heche noted in her memoir that her family changed denominations several times depending on which church her father found work in.


title: Anne Heche

text: Because of Don Heche's often unstable lifestyle and financial situation, the Heche family moved numerous times during her childhood. One of Don Heche's financial schemes led the family to resettle in the Atlantic City, New Jersey area in 1977, first in Ventnor City and later Ocean City. One of Anne's first jobs was at a boardwalk hamburger stand, where she would sing songs from "Annie" to attract customers. The family’s precarious financial situation led to the foreclosure of a home her father owned and later their eviction from a rental home. The Heches moved in with a family from their church who offered them a place to live as an act of charity. Anne’s mother separated from her father and demanded he leave the household. Her mother and all of the children then took jobs to support the family and be able to live on their own. Anne found work at a dinner theater in Swainton, her first professional acting job, earning $100 a week (about $300 per week in 2022 dollars).


title: Anne Heche

text: Don Heche moved to New York City, where Anne and her sisters would occasionally visit him, noticing his declining health. He claimed it was cancer, though he in fact had developed late-stage AIDS. Although he lived as a gay man in New York, he kept his sexuality and the nature of his illness from his family. On March 3, 1983, he died of complications from AIDS at 45 years of age. His family did not know that he was dying of AIDS and had not even heard of the disease until coming across an article on AIDS in the "New York Times" about a month before his death. In a 1998 interview, Anne reflected that her father being closeted ultimately "destroyed his happiness and our family. But it did teach me to tell the truth. Nothing else is worth anything."


title: Anne Heche

text: Three months after her father's death, Anne's 18-year-old brother Nathan was killed in a car crash when his car missed a curve and struck a tree. The remainder of her immediate family subsequently moved to Chicago to be closer to other family members. Anne, her mother, and her older sister Abigail, who had left college, were all living together in a one-bedroom apartment, which lacked privacy and which Heche would compare to living in a dorm room.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche attended the progressive Francis W. Parker School, where she continued to be active in theatre, performing in such plays as Thornton Wilder's "The Skin of Our Teeth" and Irwin Shaw's "Bury the Dead". When she was 16, a talent scout spotted her in a school play and invited her to audition for the daytime soap opera "As the World Turns". Heche flew to New York City with her mother, auditioned, and was offered a part. She was not able to accept the offer, as it would have entailed moving with her family to New York City in the middle of her school year, and having her mother leave a new job at a brokerage firm. In her memoir, Heche notes that she really wanted to move out on her own and "escape [her] mother’s grasp", but this was not an option while she was still a minor.


title: Anne Heche

text: In 1987, at the end of her senior year, she was offered another audition, this time for the soap opera "Another World". She was offered a role after two auditions and accepted, in spite of her mother's opposition. She moved to New York City and started work on the soap opera just days after her high school graduation. In a later interview she stated, "I did my time with my mom in a one-bedroom, skanky apartment and I was done."


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche had her debut television role on the soap opera "Another World" in the dual role of twins Vicky Hudson and Marley Love. Heche continued on the series for nearly 4 years, from 1987 to 1991. She received several awards for her work on "Another World", including a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series in 1991.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche was unsure about her future as an actress after leaving "Another World", having not performed in any other onscreen roles during her time on the soap opera and not having any acting jobs in place at the time she decided to leave. She knew that she did not want to continue in soap operas, something that was considered fairly insignificant in the larger world of professional acting. As a backup plan, she applied to and received an offer of acceptance from Parsons School of Design in New York City. However, right after applying to design school, she was offered a small supporting role in the Hallmark Hall of Fame television film adaptation of the Willa Cather novel "O Pioneers!", featuring Jessica Lange. Heche decided to take that offer rather than attend design school and to continue with her career as an actress.


title: Anne Heche

text: She received news of her Daytime Emmy Award for "Another World" while in Nebraska filming "O Pioneers!". "Does this mean I’m an actress?" was her response in a telephone call with her agent following the news. The agent suggested that she relocate from New York City to Los Angeles, which she did days after shooting was completed on the film. "O Pioneers!" would air in February 1992 and was her first TV movie. Her performance garnered some positive critical notice. After completing "O Pioneers!", she starred in a guest appearance in an episode of "Murphy Brown". Though this episode was shot after "O Pioneers!", it aired in November 1991 and hence was her primetime television debut and her first screen appearance outside of "Another World". After her "Murphy Brown" appearance, however, she felt that guest spots on television episodes would be detrimental to her long-term career success and mostly avoided TV guest spots until the 2000s.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche also starred in several roles in Los Angeles theater productions in 1991 and 1992, including "Us & Them", a Generation X slice-of-life theater piece, and "Getting Away With Murder", a stage adaptation of the James M. Cain stories "Dead Man" and "The Baby in the Icebox", which were produced as part of the Mark Taper Forum-sponsored "Sundays at the Itchey Foot" series. In early 1993, Heche made her theatrical film debut in the little-seen independent film "An Ambush of Ghosts", directed by Everett Lewis. Soon afterward, she appeared in the Disney film "The Adventures of Huck Finn" with Elijah Wood. Over the next two years, she performed mainly in bit parts in feature films such as "A Simple Twist of Fate" (1994) and larger supporting roles in cable television movies such as "Girls in Prison" (1994) and "" (1995).


title: Anne Heche

text: She appeared in her first lead role (though without receiving top billing) in Donald Cammell's erotic thriller "Wild Side" (1995), alongside Christopher Walken and Joan Chen. The film gained some notoriety for its inclusion of a very strong lesbian sex scene between Heche and Chen. In 1996, Heche had the starring role as a college student contemplating an abortion in a segment of the made-for-HBO anthology film "If These Walls Could Talk", co-starring Cher and Demi Moore. Also that year, she appeared opposite Catherine Keener portraying childhood best friends in the independent film "Walking and Talking". The limited-release film garnered favorable reviews from critics and is number 47 on "Entertainment Weekly"s "Top 50 Cult Films of All-Time" list. Heche gained positive notice from film critic Alison Macor of "Austin Chronicle", who wrote in her review that she "is destined for larger film roles".


title: Anne Heche

text: In 1997, Heche starred in what has been described as her breakthrough role in the crime drama "Donnie Brasco" as the wife of the main character, an FBI undercover agent played by Johnny Depp. The film was a critical and box-office success, and Heche's supporting role was widely-praised. Critic Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" wrote that Heche "does well with what could have been the thankless role". By the late 1990s Heche continued to find recognition and commercial success as she took on supporting roles in three other 1997 high-profile film releases"—Volcano", "I Know What You Did Last Summer", and "Wag the Dog". The disaster film "Volcano", about the formation of a volcano in Los Angeles, had her star with Tommy Lee Jones and Gaby Hoffmann, playing a seismologist. While critical response towards the film was mixed, it grossed US$122 million at the international box office. She portrayed the minor role of a backwoods loner in the slasher thriller sleeper hit "I Know What You Did Last Summer", starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr. Despite her limited screen time in the film, Heche was considered a "standout" by some reviewers, such as Derek Eller writing for "Variety". She obtained the part of a presidential advisor opposite Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman in the political satire "Wag the Dog", a role that was originally written for a man. Budgeted at US$15 million, the film made US$64 million. She received the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1997 for her roles in "Donnie Brasco" and "Wag the Dog".


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche's first lead role in a major film came in the 1998 romantic adventure "Six Days, Seven Nights", where she appeared opposite Harrison Ford, portraying a New York City journalist who ends up with a pilot (Ford) on a deserted island following a crash landing. She had been cast in the film one day before her same-sex relationship with Ellen DeGeneres went public. Although Heche was cast in a second starring role shortly thereafter as Vince Vaughn's love interest in the drama "Return to Paradise" (1998), she felt that her relationship with DeGeneres destroyed her prospects as a leading woman. According to Heche, "People said, 'You're not getting a job because you're gay'". She commented: "How could that destroy my career? I still can't wrap my head around it." "Six Days, Seven Nights" received mixed reviews, but grossed US$74.3 million in North America and US$164.8 million worldwide. On her appearance in the dramatic thriller "Return to Paradise", a writer for "The New York Times" remarked, "as Ms. Heche's formidable Beth Eastern does her best to manipulate the other characters on (costar Joaquin Phoenix's character) behalf, "Return to Paradise" takes on the abstract weightiness of an ethical debate rather than the visceral urgency of a thriller".


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche starred in Gus Van Sant's "Psycho" (1998), a remake of the 1960 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. In the updated version, she took on the role originally played by Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, an embezzler who arrives at an old motel run by serial killer Norman Bates (played by Vince Vaughn in their second collaboration). "Psycho" earned negative reviews, and despite a US$60 million budget, it made US$37.1 million worldwide. In an otherwise negative review of the film, Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" felt that Heche was "refreshingly cast in Marion's role", while noting that her portrayal was "almost as demure as Ms. Leigh's, yet she's also more headstrong and flirty". Her 1998 films were the only theatrically released films in which she had a leading role. Heche also starred opposite Ed Harris in the 1999 film, "The Third Miracle", directed by Agnieszka Holland.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche spent much of the 1998 to 2001 working on film directing projects, often writing her own screenplays. She pulled back from acting roles during this period and had relatively few acting appearances from 1999 to 2001. Her first effort at writing and directing was a 1998 short film titled "Stripping for Jesus", which was about an evangelical Christian stripper who writes Bible verses on her body so as to reach clients "in a language that they understand". According to Heche, the film was a metaphor for "my life as I saw it". The film was fully self-financed. Heche starred in the film along with Suzanne Krull and Karen Black.


title: Anne Heche

text: Her next several films were made for cable television and featured then-partner Ellen DeGeneres in varying degrees of participation. The first of these (and the one with the widest release) came in 2000, when Heche directed a segment of "If These Walls Could Talk 2" for HBO. An anthology film, it consisted of a series of segments about lesbian life in individual years over several decades. In Heche's segment, "2000", DeGeneres and Sharon Stone starred as a contemporary lesbian couple trying to have a baby together via artificial insemination. DeGeneres was also one of the executive producers of the film. In 2001, Heche directed another anthology film segment, this time part of "On the Edge", a Showtime anthology of science fiction stories directed by different actresses. Heche's segment, titled "Reaching Normal", was her screenplay adaptation of the short story "Command Performance" by Walter M. Miller Jr. The segment features Andie MacDowell and Paul Rudd in the story of a housewife who enters into a telepathic extramarital affair; the segment includes a cameo appearance by DeGeneres.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche also directed a documentary that was to be released in 2001, "Ellen DeGeneres: American Summer", about DeGeneres' 2000 stand-up comedy tour. The project was never completed. DeGeneres, who financed the documentary, states that she "burned" the film after attempting to salvage the project following the couple's split, but that the memories that it brought back were too painful.


title: Anne Heche

text: Most of Heche's roles in the early 2000s were in independent films and television; she played the role of Dr. Sterling in the film adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel's autobiography about depression, "Prozac Nation", with Christina Ricci and Jessica Lange. Premiered at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival, the film received a DVD release in 2005. She appeared as a hospital administrator in the thriller "John Q", about a father and husband (Denzel Washington) whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart. The production made US$102.2 million at the worldwide box office, despite negative reviews by critics. In 2001, she obtained a recurring role in the fourth season of the television series "Ally McBeal".


title: Anne Heche

text: In 2002, Heche made her Broadway debut in a production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "Proof", in the role of a young woman who has inherited her father's mathematical genius and mental illness. "The New York Times" found Heche to be "consequential" in her portrayal and compared her to Mary-Louise Parker and Jennifer Jason Leigh, who had previously played the character, stating: "[...] Ms. Heche, whose stage experience is limited and who is making her New York stage debut at 33, plays the part with a more appeasing ear and more conventional timing, her take on the character is equally viable. Her Catherine is a case of arrested development, impatient, aggressively indignant, impulsive". In 2004, Heche received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the Lifetime movie "Gracie's Choice", as well as a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress for her performance in the CBS television film "The Dead Will Tell". In the same year, she performed on Broadway opposite Alec Baldwin in revival of the play "Twentieth Century," about a successful and egomaniacal Broadway director (Baldwin), who has transformed a chorus girl (Heche) into a leading lady. For her performance, she was nominated for the 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.


title: Anne Heche

text: Also in 2004, Heche appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Cameron Bright in the well-received independent drama "Birth". She took on the recurring role on The WB drama "Everwood" during its 2004–05 season, and then a recurring role on "Nip/Tuck" in 2005 as an ex-mob wife and Witness Protection Program subject who requires plastic surgery. Heche continued her television work with Hallmark Hall of Fame Christmas film "Silver Bells" (2005) and in the Lifetime Television film "Fatal Desire" (2006), about an ex-cop, played by Eric Roberts, who meets a woman on an online dating site who attempts to get him to kill her husband. The movie was loosely based on the Sharee Miller case.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche appeared in the small-scale dramedy "Sexual Life" (2005), chronicling modern romantic life and co-starring Azura Skye and Elizabeth Banks. The film was screened on the film festival circuit and received a television premiere. In 2006 Heche began work on her own series, "Men in Trees". In the show, she starred as a New York author, who after finding out her fiancé is cheating on her, moves to a small town in Alaska, which happens to be abundant with single men and few women. "Men in Trees" was canceled in May 2008, after a season shortened by the writer's strike. During the airing of the show, Heche starred in the romantic comedy "What Love Is" (2007) and in "Toxic Skies" (2008), a science-fiction thriller based on the chemtrails conspiracy theory.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche appeared as the girlfriend of a narcissistic gigolo in the sex comedy "Spread" (2009), co-starring Ashton Kutcher. The film received a limited release in North American theaters while it made US$12 million at the worldwide box office. Matthew Turney of "View London" felt that "[t]here's also terrific support" from Heche in what he described as an "enjoyable, sharply written and beautifully shot LA drama". Also in 2009, she was cast in the HBO dramedy series "Hung", in a supporting role as the ex-wife of a financially-struggling high school coach-turned-male prostitute, portrayed by Thomas Jane. The series received favorable reviews and aired until 2011.


title: Anne Heche

text: A cameo appearance as the CEO of an important company in the well-received comedy "The Other Guys" (2010), starring Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, was followed by a much larger role in the independent comedy "Cedar Rapids" (2011), where she portrayed a seductive insurance agent with whom a naive and idealistic man (played by Ed Helms) becomes smitten. The Sundance-premiered production garnered critical praise and was an arthouse success. David Rooney of "The Hollywood Reporter" remarked in his review for the film, "while Heche shines brightest in more brittle mode, as in HBO's "Hung", she strikes a sweet balance between Joan's mischievous and maternal sides".


title: Anne Heche

text: In the drama "Rampart" (2011), she starred with Woody Harrelson and Cynthia Nixon, as one of the two former wives of a corrupt police officer (Harrelson), who also happen to be sisters. The film had a selected theatrical run following its premiere at the 36th Toronto International Film Festival, and garnered an overall positive response; "The San Francisco Chronicle", remarked that Heche and her other female co-stars, "allow Harrelson to shine – he has always had a way of preening for women – and he brings out the best in them". Heche had the leading role in the comedy "That's What She Said" (2012), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and also played the girlfriend of a former pro golfer (Colin Firth) in "Arthur Newman" (also 2012).


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche starred with James Tupper, Jennifer Stone, and Rebekah Brandes in the supernatural horror film "Nothing Left to Fear" (2013), about a family's life in a new town being interrupted by an unstable man of the cloth. The film received a release for video-on-demand and selected theaters. It was panned by critics, and the "Los Angeles Times" remarked that both Heche and Tupper "should write apology notes to their fans". Also in 2013, Heche headlined the short-lived NBC sitcom "Save Me", in which she starred as a Midwestern housewife who believes that she is channeling God. She played the waitress friend of a recovering gambling addict (Jason Statham) in the action thriller "Wild Card" (2014). Distributed for a VOD and limited release in certain parts of North America only, the film only grossed US$6.7 million internationally on a $30 million budget. She had a recurring guest-role on "The Michael J. Fox Show" before its cancellation. In 2013, she signed a first look deal with Universal Television.


title: Anne Heche

text: USA Network's action-adventure drama series, "Dig", had Heche portray the head of the FBI office in Jerusalem whose agents uncover a 2,000-year-old conspiracy while investigating an archaeologist's murder. The six-episode series premiered in late 2014. In 2015, Heche guest-starred in the ABC thriller series "Quantico" playing the role of criminal profiler, Dr. Susan Langdon. On September 27, 2016, she starred in the post-apocalyptic action drama "Aftermath", which debuted on Canada's Space Network and on United States' Syfy. Heche played Karen Copeland, a U.S. Air Force pilot from Washington, who must navigate Armageddon, with her university-professor husband Josh, played by James Tupper, and their three nearly adult children. Neither "Dig" nor "Aftermath" was renewed for a second season.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche filmed the supporting part as the lead singer for a Broadway musical in "Opening Night" (2016), with Topher Grace. The musical comedy was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival. In another independent film, the comedy "Catfight" (2016), Heche starred opposite Sandra Oh, portraying one of two bitter rivals who pursue a grudge match that spans a lifetime. Like Heche's previous projects, the film premiered on the film-festival circuit and received a VOD and limited release, to largely favorable reviews from critics. "Los Angeles Times" wrote: "Oh and Heche are great here, giving performances entirely lacking in vanity and self-consciousness. They aren't afraid to get ugly, both in their treatment of everyone around them as well as in their post-brawl bruises, which makes them that much funnier".


title: Anne Heche

text: In 2017, Heche played a supporting role in "My Friend Dahmer" as Joyce, the mentally ill mother of the teenaged Jeffrey Dahmer (Ross Lynch). She received positive reviews for her performance, with "The Hollywood Reporter" calling her "nerve-jangling perfection" and "Empire" calling her "entertainingly off-kilter".


title: Anne Heche

text: On September 25, 2017, Heche debuted as the series lead playing Deputy Director Patricia Campbell of the Defense Intelligence Agency in the military/espionage thriller "The Brave", which lasted for one season on NBC. In 2018, she joined the television series "Chicago P.D." in a supporting role. In late 2020, Heche competed as one of the celebrities in the 29th season of "Dancing with the Stars", but was eliminated from the contest after the fourth week. In 2021, Heche co-starred in an ensemble cast in Lindsay Gossling's "13 Minutes" about four families struggling with multiple dilemmas in a fictional Oklahoma town just before a devastating tornado hits.


title: Anne Heche

text: At the time of her death in August 2022, Heche had completed filming several films that were still in post-production and where she would appear posthumously. One of these films was "Girl in Room 13" that aired as part of Lifetime's "Ripped from the Headlines" feature film. The movie is about human trafficking and was dedicated in memory of Heche.


title: Anne Heche

text: In 2001, she published a memoir titled "Call Me Crazy", which discussed her family and career background, as well as for the first time discussing her history of mental illness and alleging sexual abuse by her father. In 2021, on her "Better Together" podcast, she said that she was working on a second memoir tentatively titled "Call Me Sane". In September 2022, the second memoir, now titled "Call Me Anne", was submitted in manuscript form shortly before her death and was announced for a January 2023 publication.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche has also narrated several audiobooks, notably, a self-narrated audiobook of "Call Me Crazy", as well as narrating audiobook versions of Stephen King's "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" (1999) and Tess Gerritsen's "Vanish" (2005; co-narrated by Ilyana Kadushin). In 2017, Heche hosted a weekly radio show on SiriusXM with Jason Ellis entitled "Love and Heche". In late 2020, Heche and Heather Duffy Boylston launched a podcast titled "Better Together".


title: Anne Heche

text: Anne's mother, Nancy Heche has been a Christian therapist since 1997, and since 2005 has focused on "overcoming homosexuality", frequently speaking at events sponsored by evangelical Christian and Christian right groups, notably Love Won Out, an ex-gay ministry originally sponsored by Focus on the Family.


title: Anne Heche

text: Anne Heche had four older siblings, three of whom predeceased her. The eldest, Susan (1957–2006), died of a brain tumor in 2006. She was a university lecturer in literature and Christian writer, whose 1994 memoir titled "Anonymity" described their closeted gay father and the effects that his legacy had on the rest of the family. Cynthia died of a heart defect at two months. The third sibling and only brother, Nathan (1965–1983), died at 18 in a car crash three months after their father died in 1983. Anne said his death was a suicide, though her mother and surviving siblings dispute this. Abigail is the fourth sibling, followed by Anne.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche was estranged from the surviving members of her family for many years. A rift with her mother began when she first told her mother of her same-sex relationship with Ellen DeGeneres. The rift deepened when she went public with allegations of sexual abuse in her 2001 memoir, "Call Me Crazy", creating a rift with her two sisters as well. Anne claims to have been estranged from her mother since Anne confronted her about her father's sexual abuse. Nancy Heche claimed it was Anne who cut off communication.


title: Anne Heche

text: In her 2001 memoir, Heche wrote that her mother was in denial about the abuse. For example, when she contracted genital herpes as an infant, her mother insisted that it was a diaper rash and refused to take her to the doctor. Heche said that her father repeatedly raped her from the time she was an infant until she was 12. When she was asked "But why would a gay man rape a girl?" in a 2001 interview with "The Advocate", Heche replied "I don't think he was just a gay man. I think he was sexually deviant. My belief was that my father was gay and he had to cover that up. I think he was sexually abusive. The more he couldn't be who he was, the more that came out of him in [the] ways that it did."


title: Anne Heche

text: Nancy Heche has vehemently denied her daughter's allegations, and responded in a discussion of the book on an internet forum, "I am trying to find a place for myself in this writing, a place where I as Anne's mother do not feel violated or scandalized. I find no place among the lies and blasphemies in the pages of this book." Anne's sister Abigail added, "It is my opinion that my sister Anne truly believes, at this moment, what she has asserted about our father's past behavior; however, at the same time, I would like to point out that Anne, in the past, has expressed doubts herself about the accuracy of such memories. Based on my experience and her own expressed doubts, I believe that her memories regarding our father are untrue. And I can state emphatically, regardless of Anne's beliefs, that the assertion that our mother knew about such behavior is absolutely false."


title: Anne Heche

text: In 2011, Heche told "The Daily Telegraph" that she had reconciled with her remaining sister Abigail, however, she doubted she would be able to repair her relationship with her mother.


title: Anne Heche

text: Elliot and Natalie Bergman of the band Wild Belle are her nephew and niece. In 2017, she said that their album "Dreamland" was her favorite album and described herself as a "proud aunt".


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche was in relationships with Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac for about one year in the early 1990s and with Steve Martin, whom she had met on the set of "A Simple Twist of Fate", for about two years during the mid-1990s.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche's relationship with Ellen DeGeneres and the events following their breakup became subjects of widespread media interest. They were described as "the world's first gay supercouple". Heche and DeGeneres started dating in 1997, and at one point said they would get a civil union if such became legal in Vermont. They broke up in August 2000. Heche stated that all of her other romantic relationships were with men. In the memoir "Call Me Anne", submitted shortly before her death, she wrote that she never identified as a lesbian and did not regard the terms "gay" or "straight" as relevant to her.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche claims that there was professional fallout for her relationship with DeGeneres. She recounts that she was warned not to attend the 1997 premiere of "Volcano" with DeGeneres and when Heche and DeGeneres did so anyway, they were escorted out before the film had ended. Heche said that she was told that she would be denied the part in "Six Days, Seven Nights" for going public with her romance with DeGeneres, but landed the role nevertheless. However, Heche also claimed that she "did not work in a studio picture for 10 years" afterward. In a later podcast, she claimed that her split with DeGeneres was not on good terms and that she was effectively blacklisted from "The Ellen DeGeneres Show". Heche claimed that this contributed to her lack of large-film roles, with studios being reluctant to hire her for films that they would be unable to publicize on DeGeneres' widely viewed program.


title: Anne Heche

text: In 2000, Heche left DeGeneres for Coleman "Coley" Laffoon, a cameraman whom she met when she hired him as part of the camera crew for the television documentary that she was directing, "Ellen DeGeneres: American Summer". On September 1, 2001, she and Laffoon married. They had a son named Homer Heche Laffoon in March 2002. Laffoon filed for divorce in February 2007, after five and a half years of marriage. In a separate court filing, he said that Heche "exhibited bizarre and delusional behavior for which she refuses to seek professional help." The divorce was finalized in March 2009.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche left her husband for "Men in Trees" co-star James Tupper. During their relationship, Heche described herself and Tupper as being "eternally engaged." She and Tupper had a son named Atlas Heche Tupper in March 2009. Tupper and Heche separated in January 2018.


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche and former "Hung" co-star Thomas Jane announced that they were in a relationship in 2019; they were together into 2020, but had separated by the time of her death.


title: Anne Heche

text: In her memoir "Call Me Crazy", Heche discusses her struggles with mental health issues and the long-term effect of childhood abuse. She wrote that she had blocked out the memory of much of her childhood and had first gone into therapy during the time that she starred on "Another World", undergoing various types of therapy though the mid-1990s. She soon began Reichian body psychotherapy, and wrote that the release of body memories through this therapy helped her recover memories of her alleged sexual abuse by her father and confront the emotional aftermath of childhood trauma. This process was later continued through guided LSD therapy, which she claimed had led to a full recovery of childhood memories.


title: Anne Heche

text: She underwent another crisis that began about the time she had finished filming "Donnie Brasco", in which she said that she began hearing God speaking directly to her. In this state, she said that she was told that she had an inner being called "Celestia" who was an incarnation of God and the Second Coming of Jesus. She believed that it was her mission to enlighten humanity and that she had achieved fame in order to fulfill this role. She had an initial experience of hearing and being directed by God that lasted for 12 days, and her spiritual experiences and alter ego as Celestia continued for another four years. During this time, she claims to have had experiences with glossolalia, automatic writing and drawing, clairvoyance, the ability to psychically heal others, and having stigmata appear on her feet.


title: Anne Heche

text: On August 19, 2000, immediately following her separation from Ellen DeGeneres, Heche drove on Interstate 5 from Los Angeles to the San Joaquin Valley. Exiting where she said later said she "had been told" to go, she ended up in Cantua Creek, a rural area in western Fresno County, California. She left her vehicle at the side of a rural road and, wearing only a bra and shorts, walked in extremely hot weather without water, before feeling dehydrated and knocking on the door of a ranch house. The woman living at the house recognized Heche from "Six Days, Seven Nights" and was astonished that a celebrity would show up at her "in the middle of nowhere" location. After the woman let Heche in and gave her a glass of water, Heche took off her shoes and requested to take a shower, with which the resident obliged. She assumed that Heche was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, but Heche later revealed to officers that she had taken ecstasy. After taking a shower, Heche entered the living room, asked for a pair of slippers, and suggested that they should watch a movie. Unsure of what to do after Heche had been at the house for a half an hour without contacting anyone, the resident contacted the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. Heche later told the deputies that she was "God, and was going to take everyone back to heaven…in a spaceship". She was then taken to Fresno's University Medical Center by ambulance and was admitted to its psychiatric unit, but she was released within a few hours. Heche later described the incident as a "psychotic break".


title: Anne Heche

text: Heche stated that she was "insane for the first 31 years of her life", and that her insanity was triggered by the sexual abuse that her father subjected her to during her infancy and childhood. In a series of nationally televised interviews with Barbara Walters, Matt Lauer, and Larry King to promote "Call Me Crazy" in September 2001, Heche stated that she created a fantasy world called the "Fourth Dimension" and the alter ego "Celestia" to make herself feel safe. Heche said she recovered from her mental health concerns following the incident in Cantua Creek and had put her alter ego behind her.


title: Anne Heche

text: In a January 2018 interview on the podcast "Allegedly with Theo Von and Matthew Cole Weiss", Heche alleged that Harvey Weinstein had exposed himself to her and demanded oral sex. Heche said that she was fired from an unspecified Miramax film in retaliation after she refused Weinstein's advances. She said that there were many other incidents of sexual harassment that took place during her career and stated that her survival of childhood sexual abuse had given her the strength to stand up to unwanted advances such as those made by Weinstein. A spokesman for Weinstein said that he had been "friendly" with Heche, but denied all of her allegations.


title: Anne Heche

text: On August 5, 2022, Heche was involved in a sequence of three motor vehicle collisions in the Mar Vista neighborhood of Los Angeles, the final collision being the most serious, inflicting critical injuries on Heche and destroying a house. The first collision took place when her vehicle struck an apartment garage and caused minor damage. A video released by TMZ shows her vehicle, a Mini Clubman, at the scene of the accident and an unidentified man repeatedly shouting "Out of the car!" at the driver. The vehicle then reversed and left the scene of the accident. A photo of the driver also released by TMZ is identified as Anne Heche. TMZ also reported a second hit-and-run in which Heche's vehicle struck a Jaguar without stopping, though without injury to the other driver. An accompanying video shows the Mini Clubman speeding down an alleyway and nearly hitting a pedestrian. A doorbell video recorded in the moments before the final crash shows Heche's vehicle driving along a neighborhood street at a very high speed, followed a few seconds later by the sound of a crash.


title: Anne Heche

text: In the final crash, her vehicle struck a house, broke through a wall and embedded itself into the building, trapping Heche inside. The vehicle caught fire, which rapidly spread through the entire building. The resulting house fire took 65 minutes to fully extinguish and required 59 firefighters. Firefighters were unable to access and fully extricate Heche from the vehicle for 45 minutes after their arrival on the scene, and initially were not aware that a person was trapped in the vehicle itself. Heche had sustained severe burns and smoke inhalation injuries by the time she was rescued. The house was left structurally compromised and uninhabitable. The tenant living in the house was in the rear of the structure at the time of the collision and only sustained minor injuries, but her attorney said that she and her pets "almost lost their lives" and that she had lost all of her personal property in the fire.


title: Anne Heche

text: Law enforcement officials had initially stated that Heche was "deemed to be under the influence and acting erratically" at the time of the crashes. The Los Angeles Police Department said that a preliminary blood analysis showed the presence of both cocaine and narcotics, including fentanyl, in Heche's system, however, a more comprehensive analysis that would take several months would be needed to determine whether the narcotics detected were given by the hospital or ingested earlier. On December 6, 2022, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner announced the results of Heche's final autopsy, stating that she was not impaired by illicit substances at the time of the incident and that no active drugs were found in her system. An inactive metabolite of cocaine was found through a blood test taken when Heche arrived at the hospital, which the coroner’s office said indicates the drug was used in the past, but not at the time of the crash. Cannabinoids were detected in Heche's urine, but not in the blood test, which was consistent with prior use, but not during the time of the incident. Fentanyl was also detected in Heche's system, but it was determined that it was from treatment she received at the hospital.


title: Anne Heche

text: As Heche was being removed from the crash scene, she was filmed sitting up on the stretcher and struggling with paramedics while she was being wheeled into the ambulance; however, she lost consciousness soon afterward. She was first taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for initial emergency care, and then to Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital for specialized burn center care. On August 8, a representative for Heche said that she was in a coma in critical condition, requiring medical ventilation for pulmonary injury sustained in the accident. The representative also said that prior reports that Heche was in "stable condition" were "inaccurate".


title: Anne Heche

text: On August 11, the representative said that Heche was not expected to survive an anoxic brain injury she had sustained, but that she was being kept on life support to determine if her organs were viable for donation, in accordance with her expressed wish to be an organ donor. Heche was declared brain dead a few hours later, but remained on life support to assess organ donor viability and locate recipients. Heche was considered legally dead at that time under California law.


title: Anne Heche

text: On August 14, it was announced that organ recipients had been found and that her body would undergo the organ donation procedure that day. To honor her organ donation, hospital staff held an honor walk for Heche. That evening, her publicist announced that she had been "peacefully taken off life support." The office of the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner recorded the cause of death as "inhalation and thermal injuries", with "sternal fracture due to blunt trauma" listed as an "other significant condition", and ruled her death an accident.


title: Anne Heche

text: Anne Heche's cremated remains were interred in a mausoleum at Hollywood Forever Cemetery on August 23, 2022.


title: Anne Heche

text: On August 31, 2022, Heche's eldest son Homer Heche Laffoon filed a petition in the Los Angeles County probate court claiming that Heche had died intestate, and asking that he be named her estate's administrator. Laffoon's lawyer also stated that they wished to have a third party appointed guardian ad litem for Heche's younger son (and Laffoon's half-brother), Atlas Heche Tupper.


title: Anne Heche

text: On September 15, Heche's former partner James Tupper filed a petition raising objections to Laffoon's. He argued that an email sent by Heche in 2011 describing her wishes in the event of her death should be treated as her will.


title: Anne Heche

text: Tupper's petition challenged Laffoon's qualifications to administer the estate, claiming that at 20 years old, Laffoon lacked the maturity required of an administrator, and that Laffoon's lack of personal assets and income would render him unable to post the required bond. Tupper concluded that he wished to act as executor and hire a professional fiduciary to manage the estate.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Archduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His courtship of Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting, caused conflict within the imperial household, and their morganatic marriage in 1900 was only allowed after he renounced his descendants' rights to the throne. Franz Ferdinand held significant influence over the military, and in 1913 he was appointed inspector general of the Austro-Hungarian armed forces.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: On 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo by the 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia. Franz Ferdinand's assassination led to the July Crisis and precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia, which in turn triggered a series of events that eventually ledfour weeks after his deathto Austria-Hungary's allies and Serbia's allies declaring war on each other, starting World War I.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, Austria, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria (the younger brother of Franz Joseph and Maximilian) and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Francis V, Duke of Modena, died, naming Franz Ferdinand his heir on condition that he add the name "Este" to his own. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: In 1889, Franz Ferdinand's life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his hunting lodge in Mayerling. This left Franz Ferdinand's father, Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne. Karl Ludwig died of typhoid fever in 1896. Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed to the throne.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Despite this burden, he did manage to find time for travel and personal pursuits, such as his circumnavigation of the world between 1892 and 1893. After visiting India he spent time hunting kangaroos and emus in Australia in 1893, then travelled on to Nouméa, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Sarawak, Hong Kong and Japan. After sailing across the Pacific on the RMS "Empress of China" from Yokohama to Vancouver he crossed the United States, arriving at the World's Columbian Exposition 1893 on the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad on a private Pullman car named Mascotte, and staying at the Lexington Hotel, before continuing through to New York and returning to Europe.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility of this time. In his diaries he kept track of 272,511 game kills, 5,000 of which were deer. About 100,000 trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he also stuffed with various antiquities, his other great passion.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand, like most males in the ruling Habsburg line, entered the Austro-Hungarian Army at a young age. He was frequently and rapidly promoted, given the rank of lieutenant at age fourteen, captain at twenty-two, colonel at twenty-seven, and major general at thirty-one. While never receiving formal staff training, he was considered eligible for command and at one point briefly led the primarily Hungarian 9th Hussar Regiment. In 1898 he was given a commission "at the special disposition of His Majesty" to make inquiries into all aspects of the military services and military agencies were commanded to share their papers with him.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: He also held honorary ranks in the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and received the rank of Admiral at the close of the Austro-Hungarian naval maneuvers in September 1902.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand exerted influence on the armed forces even when he did not hold a specific command through a military chancery that produced and received documents and papers on military affairs. This was headed by and eventually employed a staff of sixteen. His authority was reinforced in 1907 when he secured the retirement of the Emperor's confidant Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky as Chief of the General Staff. Beck's successor, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, was personally selected by Franz Ferdinand.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz in 1913, as heir-presumptive to the elderly emperor, had been appointed inspector general of all the armed forces of Austria-Hungary ("Generalinspektor der gesamten bewaffneten Macht"), a position superior to that previously held by Archduke Albrecht and including presumed command in wartime.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: In 1894, Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek, a lady-in-waiting to Archduchess Isabella, wife of Archduke Friedrich, Duke of Teschen. Franz began to visit Archduke Friedrich's villa in Pressburg (now Bratislava), and in turn Sophie wrote to Franz Ferdinand during his convalescence from tuberculosis on the island of Lošinj in the Adriatic. They kept their relationship a secret, until it was discovered by Isabella herself.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: To be eligible to marry a member of the imperial House of Habsburg, one had to be a member of one of the reigning or formerly reigning dynasties of Europe. The Choteks were not one of these families. Deeply in love, Franz Ferdinand refused to consider marrying anyone else. Finally, in 1899, Emperor Franz Joseph agreed to permit Franz Ferdinand to marry Sophie, on the condition that the marriage would be morganatic and that their descendants would not have succession rights to the throne. Sophie would not share her husband's rank, title, precedence, or privileges; as such, she would not normally appear in public beside him. She would not be allowed to ride in the royal carriage or sit in the royal box in theaters.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: The wedding took place on 1 July 1900, at Reichstadt (now Zákupy) in Bohemia; Franz Joseph did not attend the affair, nor did any archduke including Franz Ferdinand's brothers. The only members of the imperial family who were present were Franz Ferdinand's stepmother, Princess Maria Theresa of Braganza; and her two daughters. Upon the marriage, Sophie was given the title "Princess of Hohenberg" () with the style "Her Serene Highness" (). In 1909, she was given the more senior title "Duchess of Hohenberg" () with the style "Her Highness" (). This raised her status considerably, but she was still required to yield precedence at court to all the archduchesses. Whenever a function required the couple to assemble with the other members of the imperial family, Sophie was forced to stand far down the line, separated from her husband.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand and Sophie visited England in the autumn of 1913, spending a week with George V and Queen Mary at Windsor Castle before going to stay for another week with the Duke of Portland at Welbeck Abbey, Nottinghamshire, where they arrived on 22 November. He attended a service at the local Catholic church in Worksop. Franz Ferdinand and the Duke of Portland went game shooting on the Welbeck estate when, according to Portland's memoirs, "Men, Women and Things":


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: The German historian Michael Freund described Franz Ferdinand as "a man of uninspired energy, dark in appearance and emotion, who radiated an aura of strangeness and cast a shadow of violence and recklessness ... a true personality amidst the amiable inanity that characterized Austrian society at this time." As his sometime admirer Karl Kraus put it, "he was not one who would greet you ... he felt no compulsion to reach out for the unexplored region which the Viennese call their heart." His relations with Emperor Franz Joseph were tense; the emperor's personal servant recalled in his memoirs that "thunder and lightning always raged when they had their discussions." The commentaries and orders which the heir to the throne wrote as margin notes to the documents of the Imperial central commission for architectural conservation (where he was Protector) reveal what can be described as "choleric conservatism." The Italian historian Leo Valiani provided the following description.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: "The three cornerstones of Ferdinand’s political conviction were clericalism, anti-democratic views, and anti-Hungarianism,” and the basis of his worldview was that “politics is a matter only for the ruler, while the people, the masses have to obey.” Franz Ferdinand often complained that in Hungary, the glorification of revolutionary hero Lajos Kossuth, the decline of the monarchical principle, and the dominance of the Freemasons and the Jewish people was prevalent. Historians have disagreed on how to characterize the political philosophies of Franz Ferdinand, some attributing generally liberal views on the empire's nationalities while others have emphasized his dynastic centralism, Catholic conservatism, and tendency to clash with other leaders. He advocated granting greater autonomy to ethnic groups within the Empire and addressing their grievances, especially the Czechs in Bohemia and the south Slavic peoples in Croatia and Bosnia, who had been left out of the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867. Yet his feelings towards the Hungarians were less generous, often described as antipathy. For example, in 1904 he wrote that "The Hungarians are all rabble, regardless of whether they are minister or duke, cardinal or burgher, peasant, hussar, domestic servant, or revolutionary", and he regarded even István Tisza as a revolutionary and "patented traitor". He regarded Hungarian nationalism as a revolutionary threat to the Habsburg dynasty and reportedly became angry when officers of the 9th Hussars Regiment (which he commanded) spoke Hungarian in his presence – despite the fact that it was the official regimental language. He further regarded the Hungarian branch of the Dual Monarchy's army, the Honvédség, as an unreliable and potentially threatening force within the empire, complaining at the Hungarians' failure to provide funds for the joint army and opposing the formation of artillery units within the Hungarian forces.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: He also advocated a cautious approach towards Serbia – repeatedly locking horns with Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, Vienna's hard-line Chief of the Austro-Hungarian General Staff, warning that harsh treatment of Serbia would bring Austria-Hungary into open conflict with Russia, to the ruin of both empires.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: He was disappointed when Austria-Hungary failed to act as a great power, such as during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Other nations, including, in his description, "dwarf states like Belgium and Portugal", had soldiers stationed in China, but Austria-Hungary did not. However, Austria-Hungary did participate in the Eight-Nation Alliance to suppress the Boxers, and sent soldiers as part of the "international relief force".


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Franz Ferdinand was a prominent and influential supporter of the Austro-Hungarian Navy in a time when sea power was not a priority in Austrian foreign policy and the Navy was relatively little known or supported by the public. After his assassination in 1914, the Navy honoured Franz Ferdinand and his wife with a lying in state aboard SMS "Viribus Unitis".


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: On Sunday, 28 June 1914, at about 10:45 am, Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated in Sarajevo, the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The perpetrator was 19-year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of Young Bosnia and one of a group of assassins organized and armed by the Black Hand.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Earlier in the day, the couple had been attacked by Nedeljko Čabrinović, who had thrown a grenade at their car. However, the bomb detonated behind them, injuring the occupants in the following car. On arriving at the Governor's residence, Franz angrily shouted, "So this is how you welcome your guests – with bombs!"


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: After a short rest at the Governor's residence, the royal couple insisted on seeing all those who had been injured by the bomb at the local hospital. However, no one told the drivers that the itinerary had been changed. When the error was discovered, the drivers had to turn around. As the cars backed down the street and onto a side street, the line of cars stalled. At this same time, Princip was sitting at a cafe across the street. He instantly seized his opportunity and walked across the street and shot the royal couple. He first shot Sophie in the abdomen and then shot Franz Ferdinand in the neck. Franz leaned over his crying wife. He was still alive when witnesses arrived to render aid. His dying words to Sophie were, "Don't die darling, live for our children." Princip's weapon was the pocket-sized FN Model 1910 pistol chambered for the .380 ACP cartridge provided him by Serbian Army Military Intelligence Lieutenant-Colonel and Black Hand leader Dragutin Dimitrijević. Franz Ferdinand's aides attempted to undo his coat but realized they needed scissors to cut it open: the outer lapel had been sewn to the inner front of the jacket for a smoother fit to improve his appearance to the public. Whether or not as a result of this obstacle, his wound could not be attended to in time to save him, and he died within minutes. Sophie also died en route to the hospital.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: One bullet pierced Franz Ferdinand's neck while the other pierced Sophie's abdomen. ... As the car was reversing (to go back to the Governor's residence because the entourage thought the Imperial couple were unhurt) a thin streak of blood shot from the Archduke's mouth onto Count Harrach's right cheek (he was standing on the car's running board). Harrach drew out a handkerchief to still the gushing blood. The Duchess, seeing this, called: "For Heaven's sake! What happened to you?" and sank from her seat, her face falling between her husband's knees.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Harrach and Potoriek ... thought she had fainted ... only her husband seemed to have an instinct for what was happening. Turning to his wife despite the bullet in his neck, Franz Ferdinand pleaded: ""Sopherl! Sopherl! Sterbe nicht! Bleibe am Leben für unsere Kinder!" – Sophie dear! Don't die! Stay alive for our children!" Having said this, he seemed to sag down himself. His plumed hat ... fell off; many of its green feathers were found all over the car floor. Count Harrach seized the Archduke by the uniform collar to hold him up. He asked ""Leiden Eure Kaiserliche Hoheit sehr?" – Is Your Imperial Highness suffering very badly?" ""Es ist nichts." – It is nothing." said the Archduke in a weak but audible voice. He seemed to be losing consciousness during his last few minutes, but, his voice growing steadily weaker, he repeated the phrase perhaps six or seven times more.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: A rattle began to issue from his throat, which subsided as the car drew in front of the Konak bersibin (Town Hall).


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Despite several doctors' efforts, the Archduke died shortly after being carried into the building while his beloved wife was almost certainly dead from internal bleeding before the motorcade reached the Konak.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: The assassinations, along with the arms race, nationalism, imperialism, militarism of Imperial Germany and the alliance system all contributed to the origins of World War I, which began a month after Franz Ferdinand's death, with Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand is considered the most immediate cause of World War I.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: After his death, Archduke Karl became the heir presumptive of Austria-Hungary. Franz Ferdinand was buried with his wife Sophie in Artstetten Castle, Austria.


title: Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

text: Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his Castle of Artstetten were selected as a main motif for the Austrian 10 euro The Castle of Artstetten commemorative coin, minted on 13 October 2004. The reverse shows the entrance to the crypt of the Hohenberg family. There are two portraits below, showing Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg.


title: Constantinople

text: Constantinople (see other names) was the capital of the Roman Empire, and later, the Eastern Roman Empire (also known as the Byzantine Empire; 330–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Officially renamed Istanbul in 1930, the city is today the largest city and financial centre of the Republic of Turkey (1923–present). It is also the largest city in Europe.