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Entertainment September 12, 2016
Alexis, transgender actress, activist and member of the Arquette family, passed away on September 11, 2016 while surrounded by loved ones who serenaded her with David Bowie’s “Starman.”
Yesterday morning, her brother Richmond Arquette posted on Facebook to commemorate their loss and celebrate her life; “Alexis was born as Robert, our brother. We loved him the moment he arrived. But he came in as more than a sibling – he came as our great teacher … We learned what real bravery is through watching her journey of living as a trans woman. We came to discover the one truth – that love is everything.”
As an actress, Alexis Arquette was known for her roles in the “Bride of Chucky,” “Of Mice and Men,” “Pulp Fiction” and her Boy George impersonation in “The Wedding Singer.” But as a person, she was, as Cinema Blend says, “a pioneer for the Transgender community.”
In 2007, Arquette chronicled her transition in her documentary “Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother,” which was featured in the Tribeca Film Festival that year. Although Arquette preferred to keep her personal life private, she tells Larry King that she wanted to open the topic of transitioning to the public. According to her, “I’m really proud to be a transgender female … It’s very important to me that people accept me as a transgender female, but it’s ridiculous to a lot of people and I understand that. Men and women are very, very similar, and I think the closer we can get to one another, the more we’ll understand a lot of these issues.”
In addition, Arquette appeared on season six of the VH1 reality series “The Surreal Life,” and Fox News says, “She was credited for bringing increased awareness and visibility to the transgender community.”
“Her career was cut short, not by her passing, but by her decision to live her truth and her life as a transgender woman,” her family said via Facebook, “Despite the fact that there are few parts for trans actors, she refused to play roles that were demeaning or stereotypical. She was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people.”
In 2006, however, David Arquette tells Khloé on Kocktails with Khloé, “After Caitlyn [Jenner] had her transition, [Alexis] was like, ‘I’m not transgender anymore.’ She says, ‘Sometimes I’ll be a man, sometimes I’ll be a woman. I like to refer to myself as ‘gender suspicious.’ So I asked, ‘Are you my sister or my brother?’ And she’s like, ‘It depends on how I’m dressed.’”
As Gender Diversity explains, “Unlike biological sex – which is assigned at birth and based on physical characteristics – gender identity refers to a person’s innate, deeply felt sense of being male or female (sometimes even both or neither).”
Throughout her life, whether she was a transgender woman or “gender suspicious,” Alexis Arquette, as her family says, “taught us tolerance and acceptance. As she moved through her process, she became our sister, teaching us what real love is.”
The inspirational woman passed away at the age of 47. The cause of her death has not been released.
During this time, the Arquette family has asked fans to respect their privacy and “in lieu of flowers or gifts, donations [should] please be sent to organizations that support the LGBTQ community in honor of Alexis Arquette.”
