Alexis Arquette

Alexis Arquette

Active - 1986 - 2014  |   Born - Jul 28, 1969 in Los Angeles, California, United States  |   Died - Sep 11, 2016   |   Genres - Drama, Comedy, Adventure

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Biography by AllMovie

Perhaps the most enigmatic -- and unpredictable -- member of the Arquette acting dynasty, Alexis Arquette appeared in a huge variety of colorful supporting roles that highlighted both his range and eccentricity as a performer. Born Robert Arquette, the grandson of vaudevillians, son of veteran character actor Lewis Arquette and poet Mardi Arquette, and brother of Rosanna, Patricia, David, and Richmond Arquette, she was born in L.A. in 1969. Like her siblings, Arquette broke into film at a young age, making his screen debut with a minor role in Down and out in Beverly Hills in 1986 and had her first breakthrough as Georgette, a sensitive young man with a crush on a neighborhood thug in Last Exit to Brooklyn (1990).

Arquette went on to portray characters ranging from a gay university student in Threesome (1994) to an unfortunate gunman summarily dispatched by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp Fiction (1994) to a Boy George-esque musician in The Wedding Singer (1998). She also did a memorable turn as himself in Wigstock: The Movie (1995), a documentary about New York's famed Outfest in which the actor flaunted plenty of glorious plumage, to say nothing of attitude. Arquette's role in the film was particularly appropriate, considering his well-known second job as a drag performer by the name of Eva Destruction.

After decades of doing drag and pushing gender-bending limits, Arquette official began male-to-female transitioning in 2006. She later confirmed that she often changed the gender she identified with from day-to-day. Arquette died in 2016, at age 47.

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Factsheet

  • First acting job was in the music video for the Tubes song She's a Beauty at the age of 12.
  • Got her big break when she accompanied sister Patricia to the set of Last Exit to Brooklyn at the age of 17 and was asked to audition.
  • Hosted the Los Angeles Fetish Ball for several years. 
  • Always showed an open interest in drag and other forms of gender-bending, but didn't officially begin the transition from male to female until 2006.
  • Performed as a drag cabaret star under the names Eva Destruction and Amanda B Reckondwith.