Alexis Arquette

Alexis Arquette (Template:IPAc-en; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress and transgender activist.

Born in Los Angeles, she was the fourth of five children to Lewis Arquette, an actor and director, and Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Nowak), an actress. Coming from a family deeply entrenched in the entertainment industry, Alexis was the sibling of actors Rosanna, Richmond, Patricia, and David Arquette. Her career began in her youth, appearing aged 12 in the music video "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes and making her screen debut in Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). Known for her versatility, Arquette often performed as a female impersonator under the name "Eva Destruction", before publicly sharing her transition process towards gender-affirming surgery. Her filmography includes a range of roles, from starring roles in small productions like Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992), Things I Never Told You (1996) and I Think I Do (1997) to appearances in mainstream hits like Threesome, Pulp Fiction (both 1994), The Wedding Singer, Bride of Chucky (both 1998), She's All That (1999) and Blended (2014).

Arquette's personal life was marked by her vocal support for the transgender community and candor about her own transition journey, which was documented in the film Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother. Despite facing health challenges, including contracting HIV in 1987 and later health complications, Arquette continued to be an active figure in entertainment and advocacy, until her death in 2016 aged 47.

Early life

Arquette was born in Los Angeles,<ref name="hollywoodreporter" /> the fourth of five children of Lewis Arquette, an actor and director,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name=":3">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Nowak), a Jewish<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist. Lewis's family's surname was originally "Arcouet";<ref>Finding Your Roots, February 9, 2016, PBS</ref> Lewis's father was comedian Cliff Arquette, who went by the stage name of Charley Weaver. Arquette was distantly related to American explorer Meriwether Lewis.<ref name="Los Angeles Times">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":3" /> Actors Rosanna, Richmond, Patricia, and David Arquette are her siblings.

Career

In 1982, at the age of 12, Arquette's first acting gig was as "this little kid who's on a ride with all these women and whatnot" in the music video "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1986, Arquette made her big screen debut in an uncredited role as Alexis, the androgynous friend and bandmate of sexually ambivalent teenager Max Whiteman (Evan Richards) in Down and Out in Beverly Hills.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Arquette, in the earlier years of her career, primarily performed as a female impersonator, frequently under the name "Eva Destruction". Later in her career, Arquette made public that she had begun the process leading to sex reassignment surgery.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> To this end, Arquette had publicly declared that she considered her gender to be female.

At 19, Arquette played trans sex worker Georgette in the screen adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> The majority of Arquette's film work was in low-budget or independent films. In total, Arquette starred in more than 40 movies, including I Think I Do, Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror, and Sometimes They Come Back... Again. Arquette also starred as a crack addict opposite Tim Roth in Jumpin' at the Boneyard, as a teenage boy seeking revenge for a horrible childhood in the New Zealand-shot horror fantasy Jack Be Nimble, and as a murderous drag queen in the low budget comedy Killer Drag Queens on Dope.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Arquette also had supporting roles in Pulp Fiction, Threesome and Bride of Chucky,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and she played a Boy George fanatic, George Stitzer, in the Adam Sandler–Drew Barrymore film The Wedding Singer, singing "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" over and over. Her role as Georgina, a Boy George impersonator, in another Sandler–Barrymore film, Blended, was a reference to that role. In 2001, Arquette returned to New Zealand to play Roman emperor Caligula in two episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess.Template:Citation needed That same year, Arquette guest starred in the Friends episode "The One with Chandler's Dad", in which she directly interacted with her sister-in-law, Courteney Cox. Also in the same year, she cameoed in Son of the Beach.Template:Citation needed

In September 2005, VH1 announced Arquette as one of the celebrity house-guests on the 6th season of The Surreal Life. On January 31, 2007, Arquette was a featured celebrity client and guest judge on the première episode of Bravo's reality show Top Design.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Arquette also made a cameo appearance in the music video for Robbie Williams' song "She's Madonna".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

In 2004, Arquette expressed an interest in undergoing gender-transitioning medical treatment. She decided against undergoing hormone therapy and kept her choice of whether she underwent gender-affirming surgery private from the media by the time she completed her transition in 2006.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=Starcasm>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Her experience was documented in the film Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.<ref name="newsweek">Template:Cite magazine</ref> Arquette was a vocal supporter of other transgender people, including Chaz Bono, who transitioned shortly after Arquette.<ref name=Starcasm/>

Arquette contracted HIV in 1987.<ref name=Independent>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In later life, Arquette suffered from ill health as a result of being HIV-positive.<ref name=Independent/><ref name=hollywoodreporter>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref> Amid these increasing complications, Alexis began presenting again as a man in 2013.<ref name=hollywoodreporter/> Brother David Arquette said that Alexis was "gender suspicious" and alternately felt like a man or a woman at different times.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Death

Arquette was placed in a medically-induced coma and died on September 11, 2016 at 12:32 AM. (00:32), surrounded by close family, at the age of 47. Arquette was serenaded with David Bowie's "Starman".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The official cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by myocarditis stemming from HIV.<ref name=Independent/><ref name="TMZ">Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Last Exit to Brooklyn	Georgette
1990	High Score	Yago / Freddie
	Terminal Bliss	Craig Murphy
	Template:Ill	Milan
1992	Jumpin' at the Boneyard	Dan
	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Vampire DJ
	Of Mice and Men	Whitt
	Miracle Beach	Lars
1993	Ghost Brigade	Cpl. Dawson
	Grief	Bill
	Jack Be Nimble	Jack
1994	Threesome	Dick
	Pulp Fiction	Fourth Man
	Don't Do It	David
1995	Frisk	Punk (victim #3)
	White Man's Burden	Panhandler
	Paradise Framed
	Frank & Jesse	Charlie Ford
	Days of the Pentecost	Mechanic
1996	Things I Never Told You	Paul
	Sometimes They Come Back... Again	Tony Reno	Video
	Never Met Picasso	Andrew Magnus
	Scream, Teen, Scream	Lisa Marie	Short film
	Wigstock: The Movie	Herself
1997	Inside Out	Adam	Short film
	Goodbye America	Paul Bladon
	I Think I Do	Bob
	Close To	Deaf Mute	Short film
	Kiss & Tell	Amerod Burkowitz
1998	Template:Sortname	George Stitzer
	Cleopatra's Second Husband	Alex
	Love Kills	James
	Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror	Greg	Video
	Bride of Chucky	Damien
	Fool's Gold	Mark
	The Thin Pink Line	Mr. Ed
1999	She's All That	Mitch
	Out in Fifty	Kim
	Clubland	Steven
2000	Piccadilly Pickups	Henri de la Plus Ooh Arrgh
	Template:Sortname	Willy
	Boys Life 3	Adam	(segment "Inside Out")
2001	Perfect Lover	Onix
	Audit	Richard	Short film
	Tomorrow by Midnight	Sidney
2002	The Trip	Michael
	Spun	Moustache Cop
2003	Killer Drag Queens on Dope	Ginger	credited as Eva Destruction
	Template:Sortname	Strange, Yet Attractive Woman
	Wasabi Tuna	Champagne Anna
2005	Lords of Dogtown	Tranny<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>
2006	Husky 2: Together Again	Gloria Robinson
2010	Hard Breakers	Ms. Independence
	Here & Now	Ramona
2011	Getting Back to Zero	Judy
2013	Tranzloco	Alexis
2014	Blended	Georgina
	Playing the Straight Man	Alexis	Short Film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Alien Nation	John Barrymore	Episode: "Contact"
1991	American Playhouse	Werner Hauser	Episode: "The Hollow Boy"
1994	Lies of the Heart: The Story of Laurie Kellogg	Denver McDowell	TV film
1995	Dead Weekend	McHacker	TV film
1995	Roseanne		Episode: "December Bride"
1999	Template:Sortname	Cleo	Episodes: "Games Without Frontiers", "Send Me an Angel", "Even Better Than the Real Thing"
1999–2000	Beggars and Choosers	Larry / Lola	TV series
2000	Felicity	Jim	Episode: "Docuventary II"
	Friends	The Customer	Episode: "The One with Rachel's Sister"
2001	Friends	Waiter in Drag	Episode: "The One with Chandler's Dad"
	Xena: Warrior Princess	Caligula	Episodes: "The God You Know", "You Are There"
	Son of the Beach	Beverly	Episode: "B.J. Blue Hawaii"
2005	Wanted	Paula	Episode: "Lips Are Lips"
2008	Californication	Lady in Jail	Episode: "The Great Ashby"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Nominated work	Result
1994	Fangoria Chainsaw Awards	Best Actor	Jack Be Nimble {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Nom
1997	L.A. Outfest	Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film	check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}	Template:Won

External links

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