Rebecca Gayheart Opens Up About Eric Dane's Final Weeks and AI Voice Project
Rebecca Gayheart, the widow of actor Eric Dane, has shared poignant memories of her husband's final weeks before his death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) last month at age 53. In a new interview with Variety, the 54-year-old actress revealed how Dane worked with AI company ElevenLabs to recreate his voice as the disease progressively robbed him of his ability to speak.
The Urgent Quest to Preserve a Voice
Gayheart explained that her husband became involved with ElevenLabs in his last weeks, pursuing experimental technology designed to restore his speaking voice. The AI company used previously recorded audio of Dane to create a computerized version of his voice. 'He was really excited about it, because he was losing his voice, and it was becoming more difficult for him to communicate each and every day,' Gayheart told Variety. 'So it became sort of urgent.'
The actress, who said her family remains 'still in a state of shock' over Dane's February 19 death, emphasized that her husband pursued this technology not only for daily communication but specifically to leave a final message for their daughters: 16-year-old Billie and 14-year-old Georgia.
An Emotional Moment Hearing the Recreated Voice
Weeks before Dane's death, the couple received the AI-generated voice from ElevenLabs. 'He was waiting anxiously to hear it, and when we got it from ElevenLabs it was a really big moment. It was a powerful moment,' Gayheart recalled. 'We played it, and Eric became visibly emotional. And when I heard it, I cried. I think everyone in the room did.'
The couple played the recording for their daughters shortly after receiving it. 'They were like, that’s not a recording. That’s your voice. That’s you. So it was spot on,' Gayheart said. 'He just had this way of speaking, and they captured it so beautifully.'
The Significance of Voice for a Storyteller
Gayheart reflected on the profound importance of voice for someone in Dane's profession. 'Your voice is such a big part of your craft and you’re a storyteller,' she said. 'He really understood how meaningful having the voice was. As his speech started to decrease, his ability to speak went away. He did lose a certain part of himself.'
The actress added that Dane wanted to ensure others could benefit from similar technology. 'He wanted to advocate for love and for the movement [around ALS],' she explained. 'For a million people to get a voice to be able to communicate with their children or their loved ones or their caretakers or their doctors or in their job — this is a really huge movement.'
Supporting the Project After His Death
Although Dane's health declined before he could record a bonus episode for ElevenLabs' documentary series 11 Voices, Gayheart plans to continue supporting the initiative. She will participate in a panel discussion when the series debuts at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas on March 13.
According to Variety, ElevenLabs has pledged to provide lifetime software licenses and technical support to individuals with terminal neurological diseases affecting speech. The company claims it will assist approximately one million people with its services, representing about $1 billion in costs.
Family Life Amid Tragedy
Despite the family's grief, Gayheart recently celebrated daughter Billie's 16th birthday, sharing childhood photos on Instagram that included images with her late father. The actress acknowledged the complex nature of her relationship with Dane, noting they had been legally separated for seven years prior to his ALS diagnosis but remained married at the time of his death.
Dane's death certificate lists respiratory failure with ALS as an underlying cause. His GoFundMe page, which raised $476,786 of a $500,000 goal to support his daughters, lists Gayheart as the beneficiary.
Final Words to His Daughters
In Netflix's documentary Famous Last Words, secretly recorded in November, Dane directly addressed his daughters. 'Billie and Georgia, these words are for you,' he said. 'I tried. I stumbled sometimes, but I tried. Overall we had a blast, didn't we?'
The actor, best known for his role as Dr. Mark 'McSteamy' Sloan on Grey's Anatomy, offered four lessons he learned from his illness: cherish every moment, fall in love or find your passion, choose friends wisely, and fight until your last breath. 'I hope I've demonstrated that you can face anything,' Dane told his daughters. 'You can face the end of your days. You can face hell with dignity. Fight, girls, and hold your heads high.'
Dane completed his role as Cal Jacobs in the upcoming third season of Euphoria, set to premiere on HBO Max on April 12. The actor's career spanned nearly three decades, with notable roles in television and film before his death from the progressive neurodegenerative disease.
