Transgender Actress Alexis Arquette Dead at 47

Transgender actress Alexis Arquette died Sunday morning at the age of 47. A statement issued by her family said “she passed away surrounded by love,” although no cause of death was provided. Arquette, from the well-known acting family, had appeared in Last Exit to Brooklyn, Of Mice and Men, Pulp Fiction, and The Wedding Singer in her career. But her refusal to accept demeaning Hollywood roles for trans actors compromised her career, her family said. “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 in their statement, noting that “she was a vanguard in the fight for understanding and acceptance for all trans people.” The family has asked fans to make a donation to organizations supporting LGBTQ causes to honor Arquette.