Alexis Arquette, actress and activist, sister to Rosanna, Patricia, Richmond and David Arquette, has died. She was 47.
Alexis was born Robert Arquette in Los Angeles in 1969, and started her acting career early, playing a child in a music video for The Tubes. Her first film role was uncredited, playing Alexis in Down And Out In Beverly Hills.
Other film roles included work in The Wedding Singer, Last Exit To Brooklyn, Pulp Fiction, Bride Of Chucky, Here & Now, Lords Of Dogtown and a variety of indie movies. On the small screen, she was seen in shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess and Felicity. A transgender woman, Alexis transitioned fully into a woman while filming a documentary about the process to raise awareness called Alexis Arquette: She's My Brother, which screened in 2007. The cause of her death is unknown, but her family were with her.
"She passed away surrounded by love. We held her and sang her David Bowie’s Starman as she punched through the veil to the other side," Richmond wrote on Facebook. "We washed her body in rose petals and surrounded her with flowers. Alexis always had to do everything first. She left before we were ready to let her go. We are all heartbroken that she is no longer with us, but we are grateful for the grace and kindness we were all shown during this difficult time. We are comforted by the fact that Alexis came into our family and was our brother and then our sister, and that she gave us so much love. We will love you always, Alexis. We know we were the lucky ones."