Alexis Arquette ( ar-KET; July 28, 1969 – September 11, 2016) was an American actress and transgender activist. Born in Los Angeles, she was the fourth of five children of actor and director Lewis Arquette and Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Nowak), an actress. Her siblings include actors Rosanna, Richmond, Patricia, and David Arquette.
Arquette began her career at age 12, appearing in the music video "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes (1982), and made her screen debut in Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986). In the earlier part of her career she frequently performed as a female impersonator under the name "Eva Destruction". She later publicly shared her transition process toward gender-affirming surgery. Her filmography spans more than 40 films, ranging from leading roles in independent productions such as Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992), Things I Never Told You (1996), and I Think I Do (1997), to supporting parts in mainstream releases including Threesome, Pulp Fiction (both 1994), The Wedding Singer, Bride of Chucky (both 1998), She's All That (1999), and Blended (2014).
A vocal advocate for the transgender community, Arquette's transition was documented in the film Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother (2007). She contracted HIV in 1987 and continued working in film and television until 2014. She died on September 11, 2016, at the age of 47.
Arquette was born on July 28, 1969, in Los Angeles, California, the fourth of five children of Lewis Arquette, an actor and director, and Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Nowak), a Jewish actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist. Lewis's family surname was originally "Arcouet"; his father, Alexis’ grandfather, was comedian Cliff Arquette, who performed under the stage name Charley Weaver. Arquette was distantly related to American explorer Meriwether Lewis. Her siblings are actors Rosanna, Richmond, Patricia, and David Arquette.
In 1982, at the age of 12, Arquette made her first screen appearance in the music video "She's a Beauty" by The Tubes, playing "this little kid who's on a ride with all these women and whatnot". In 1986, she 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.
In the earlier years of her career, Arquette primarily performed as a female impersonator, frequently under the name "Eva Destruction". At 19, she played trans sex worker Georgette in the screen adaptation of Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989).
The majority of Arquette's film work was in low-budget or independent films. In total, she starred in more than 40 movies. Notable roles include a crack addict opposite Tim Roth in Jumpin' at the Boneyard (1992), a teenage boy seeking revenge for a traumatic childhood in the New Zealand-shot horror fantasy Jack Be Nimble (1993), and a murderous drag queen in the low-budget comedy Killer Drag Queens on Dope (2003). Her other film credits include Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror and Sometimes They Come Back... Again (both 1996) and I Think I Do (1997).
Arquette had supporting roles in Pulp Fiction, Threesome (both 1994), and Bride of Chucky (1998). She played Boy George fanatic George Stitzer in the Adam Sandler–Drew Barrymore comedy The Wedding Singer (1998), singing "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" repeatedly throughout. A later role as Georgina, a Boy George impersonator, in the Sandler–Barrymore film Blended (2014) served as a callback to that earlier character.
In 2001, Arquette returned to New Zealand to portray Roman emperor Caligula in two episodes of Xena: Warrior Princess. That same year she guest starred in the Friends episode "The One with Chandler's Dad", in which she appeared alongside her sister-in-law Courteney Cox, and made a cameo in Son of the Beach.
In September 2005, VH1 announced Arquette as one of the celebrity house guests on the sixth season of The Surreal Life. On January 31, 2007, she appeared as a featured celebrity client and guest judge on the premiere episode of Bravo's reality series Top Design.
Arquette made a cameo appearance in the music video for Robbie Williams' song "She's Madonna". She later publicly announced that she had begun the process leading to sex reassignment surgery.
Gender identity and transition
In 2004, Arquette expressed an interest in undergoing gender-transitioning medical treatment. She decided against hormone therapy and kept private whether she ultimately underwent gender-affirming surgery, completing her transition in 2006. Her experience was documented in the film Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Arquette was a vocal supporter of other transgender people, including Chaz Bono, who transitioned shortly after Arquette.
Amid increasing health complications from HIV, Arquette began presenting again as a man in 2013. Her brother David Arquette said that Alexis was "gender suspicious" and alternately felt like a man or a woman at different times.
Arquette contracted HIV in 1987. In later life she suffered from ill health as a result of being HIV-positive.
Arquette was placed in a medically induced coma and died on September 11, 2016, at 12:32 AM, surrounded by close family, at the age of 47. She was serenaded with David Bowie's "Starman". The official cause of death was cardiac arrest caused by myocarditis stemming from HIV.