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Rebecca Gayheart Dane on caring for her late husband, Eric Dane, and synthetic voices

NPR | By Juana Summers,
Courtney Dorning, Henry Larson
Published March 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM EDT
Rebecca Gayheart-Dane speaks onstage at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.
Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for Chrysalis Butterfly Ball
Rebecca Gayheart-Dane speaks onstage at the 16th Annual Chrysalis Butterfly Ball on June 3, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

The actor Eric Dane, who played Dr. Mark Sloan on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy, died last month. Dane was 53, and announced he had been diagnosed with ALS last April.

The disease affects nerves in the brain and spinal cord, robbing a person of their ability to walk, breathe and often speak.

Dane's widow, Rebecca Gayheart Dane, told NPR it was devastating to see his voice slip away.

"He was witty, acerbic, full of humor, and he always had a great story," Gayheart Dane said. "So, as speaking became harder for him, I watched and witnessed some of his joy fade, and it was really hard and very heartbreaking."

She is now working with ElevenLabs, an artificial intelligence company that makes synthetic voice software. The company developed a program that helps people with permanent voice loss replicate their voices, including Eric Dane's.

Gayheart Dane spoke with All Things Considered host Juana Summers about her role as a caregiver and her complex feelings about artificial intelligence.

Listen to the full interview by clicking on the blue play button above.

Copyright 2026 NPR
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Juana Summers
Juana Summers is a political correspondent for NPR covering race, justice and politics. She has covered politics since 2010 for publications including Politico, CNN and The Associated Press. She got her start in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Mo., and also previously covered Congress for NPR.
See stories by Juana Summers
Courtney Dorning
Courtney Dorning has been a Senior Editor for NPR's All Things Considered since November 2018. In that role, she's the lead editor for the daily show. Dorning is responsible for newsmaker interviews, lead news segments and the small, quirky features that are a hallmark of the network's flagship afternoon magazine program.
See stories by Courtney Dorning
Henry Larson

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