Alexis Arquette died yesterday at age 47. The transgender actress was reportedly surrounded by family, according to her brother, Richmond. As of now, her cause of death was not specified.
The Jewish actress (her mother was of Russian and Polish descent) and activist was born as Robert Arquette. Like her brother David and sisters Patricia and Rosanna, Alexis caught the acting bug and started appearing in films at age 12, appearing in hit films like “Bride of Chucky“ and “Of Mice and Men.” She also documented her transition to a woman in the 2007 film, “Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother.” On Facebook, Richmond wrote:
“Our brother Robert, who became our brother Alexis, who became our sister Alexis, who became our brother Alexis, passed this morning September 11, at 12:32 am. He was surrounded by all of his brothers and sisters, one of his nieces and several other loved ones. We were playing music for him and he passed during David Bowie’s Starman. As per his wishes, we cheered at the moment that he transitioned to another dimension.”
Patricia also tweeted the video for “Starman” early Sunday morning along with the caption, “Breaking through the veil singing Starman”:
Breaking through the veil singing StarMan https://t.co/A3way5S3Lb
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) September 11, 2016
Richmond continued to write how Alexis was a force and lived on her own terms:
“I am feeling immense gratitude to have been afforded the luxury of sharing life with him/her, for learning from Alexis, for being given the gift of being able to love him/her and to be loved by him/her. He was a force.
He died as he lived, on his own terms. I am immensely grateful that it was fast and painless. It was an incredibly moving experience and I am humbled and grateful to have been able to have been with him as he began his journey onward.
Thank you, Alexis, I love you and will love you always.”
Our thoughts are with the grieving family.
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