|
Rosanna Arquette - Biography |
|
|
|
Arquette was born in New York City,
the daughter of Mardi Olivia (née Nowak), an actress, poet, theater
operator, activist, acting teacher and therapist, and Lewis Arquette, an
actor and director. Arquette's paternal grandfather was comedian Cliff
Arquette. Arquette's mother was Jewish, the daughter of a Holocaust
refugee from Poland, and her father was a convert to Islam and a
descendant of explorer Meriwether Lewis. Arquette's siblings are actors
Patricia, Alexis, Richmond and David Arquette. Arquette is also the
sister-in-law of Courteney Cox, who is married to Arquette's brother
David.
In 1963, Arquette's family moved to Chicago, where her father managed The
Second City theater for several years. When she was 11 years old, her
parents moved to a commune in Front Royal, Virginia. Arquette did not do
well at school. In 1974, she hitchhiked across the country with three
older teenagers, eventually going to San Francisco, where she worked at
Renaissance and Dickens fairs. Her professional theater debut was May 27,
1977, appearing in the Story Theatre Musical Ovid's The Metamorphoses at
the Callboard Theatre on Melrose Place in Los Angeles.
In Hollywood, she had her first roles playing teens with troubles. A few
years later she started to act in mature roles. Besides cinema movies,
Arquette appeared from the beginning of her career in television films. In
1982, she earned an Emmy Award nomination for the TV film The
Executioner's Song. Thereafter, she played in many cinema movies and TV
films and has worked with many of the most acclaimed film directors of the
last twenty years. Arquette's first starring role was in John Sayles's
Baby It's You (film), a highly regarded but little seen film. She carried
Desperately Seeking Susan but was eclipsed by her pop singer co-star
Madonna. After Hours also played to her comedic talents but failed to find
an audience while 8 Million Ways to Die was buried by the studio and for a
time she quit Hollywood to work in Europe.
In 1989, Martin Scorsese offered her a part in New York Stories. Since
then, Arquette has appeared, with few exceptions, in one or in several
movies each year, some of them of notable interest, like Pulp Fiction and
the David Cronenberg film, Crash. An offbeat choice, however, was to fly
downunder and make the Australian film Wendy Cracked a Walnut (1990) (also
known as "…Almost"). An expensive film, and a huge box office flop, only
the musical score by Bruce Smeaton was generally noted by critics, for its
musical innovation. In 1990, Arquette appeared on the cover and in a nude
pictorial in Playboy's September issue, although she claimed it was
without her prior knowledge or approval.
Known for most of her career as an actress, in recent years, Arquette has
also been expanding into film direction. Recent films which she has
directed include the documentaries Searching for Debra Winger (2002) and
All We Are Saying (2005); she served for both projects in the role of
producer, as well as director.
Arquette was married when she was 19 to director/composer Tony Greco; they
divorced in October 1980. Her 1986 marriage to composer James Newton
Howard ended in divorce as well. The reconciliation with an old love of
Arquette's, English pop and rock star Peter Gabriel, proved also to be
impossible. More recently, Arquette has focused her energies on spending
time with her daughter and promoting awareness of breast cancer, while
continuing with her work, now also as a director. In 2002 her critically
acclaimed documentary Searching For Debra Winger was released. In the
film, Arquette interviews prominent and respected actresses (mostly
between the ages of 30 and 60) in an attempt to find out whether it was
practical for a working actress to successfully maintain a family.
Arquette married restaurateur Jon Sidel in 1993. One year later their
daughter, Zoe Blue Sidel, was born. Arquette went on working intensively,
which meant she was often away from home. The tensions this created, as
well as the death of her mother from breast cancer, led the couple to
divorce.
The Grammy-award winning single "Rosanna", which was the lead track on the
album Toto IV (by the band of the same name) was named after Steve
Porcaro's ex-girlfriend, Arquette, but the song itself was not about her,
according to writer David Paich. She was involved with Steve Porcaro of
Toto at the time, but according to a 1983 Rolling Stone interview,
Arquette said it was written by the band about the fact that she used to
bring them "juice and beer" at all hours of the night during their
recording sessions. |
|
|
|
Rosanna Arquette - Personal Quotes |
|
|
|
"Never eat a Mars Bar offered
to you by Marianne Faithfull".
"I'm a wreck. I get hurt very easily. I don't have a tough shell.
I'm so insecure - it's pretty stupid for me to be in this business,
isn't it?"
"I have buck teeth. I sucked my thumb until I was 11... and then I
went on to suck other things…"
"I'm very insecure. I hate working out. I detest it. I have places
that could probably be more toned, but in Europe, imperfection is
beautiful".
"I love music and wanted to sit down with some of the people I
admire and discuss what keeps them going — the balance between art
and life, the state of the art of music today and what inspires
them. Most true artists care about music as a pure, passionate art
form, but can get caught in the trap of the business which, sadly,
has now become more important than the artist or even the music
itself". |
| |
|
Rosanna Arquette - Filmography |
| |
|
Hectic (2008) .... Sheila
Growing Op (2008) .... Diana
Ball Don't Lie (2007) .... Francine
Terra (2007) (voice)
"What About Brian" .... Nicole Varzi / ... (25 episodes, 2006-2007)
- What About Calling All Friends... (2007) TV Episode .... Nicole
Varzi
- What About Secret Lovers... (2007) TV Episode .... Nicole Varzi
- What About All That Glitters... (2007) TV Episode .... Nicole
Varzi
- What About Strange Bedfellows... (2007) TV Episode .... Nicole
Varzi
- What About Temptations... (2007) TV Episode .... Nicole Varzi
(20 more)
"The L Word" .... Cherie Jaffe (5 episodes, 2004-2007)
- Legend in the Making (2007) TV Episode .... Cherie Jaffe
- Lifeline (2006) TV Episode .... Cherie Jaffe
- Limb from Limb (2004) TV Episode .... Cherie Jaffe
- Liberally (2004) TV Episode .... Cherie Jaffe
- Luck, Next Time (2004) TV Episode .... Cherie Jaffe
I-See-You.Com (2006) .... Lydia Ann Layton
"Grey's Anatomy" .... Constance Ferguson (1 episode, 2005)
- Owner of a Lonely Heart (2005) TV Episode .... Constance Ferguson
Welcome to California (2005) .... Prostitute
Kids in America (2005) .... Abby Pratt
"Malcolm in the Middle" .... Anita (1 episode, 2005)
- Burning Man (2005) TV Episode .... Anita
Iowa (2005) .... Effie Harte
My Suicidal Sweetheart (2005) .... Vera
... aka Max & Grace (USA: festival title)
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" .... Kay Connelly (1 episode, 2005)
... aka Law & Order: CI (USA: promotional abbreviation)
- Sex Club (2005) TV Episode .... Kay Connelly
Dead Cool (2004) .... Deirdre
"Summerland" .... Ronnie (1 episode, 2004)
- Skipping School (2004) TV Episode .... Ronnie
Gilded Stones (2004) .... Sally
... aka David Mamet's Gilded Stones (USA: complete title)
Rush of Fear (2003) (TV) .... Alex McGuire
The Law and Mr. Lee (2003) (TV) .... Linda Ellis
"Will & Grace" .... Julie (2 episodes, 2003)
- Women and Children First (2003) TV Episode .... Julie
- Fagmalion Part 1: Gay It Forward (2003) TV Episode .... Julie
"The Practice" .... Brenda Miller (1 episode, 2003)
- Character Evidence (2003) TV Episode .... Brenda Miller
"Going to California" .... Helen (1 episode, 2002)
- Home Games (2002) TV Episode .... Helen
Diary of a Sex Addict (2001) (V) .... Grace Horn
Good Advice (2001) .... Cathy Sherman
Big Bad Love (2001) .... Velma
Joe Dirt (2001) (uncredited) .... Charlene the Gator Farmer
... aka The Adventures of Joe Dirt (Canada: English title: TV title)
(USA: working title)
Things Behind the Sun (2001) .... Pete
"The Huntress" .... Arlene Potts (1 episode, 2001)
- Black Widow (2001) TV Episode .... Arlene Potts
Too Much Flesh (2000) .... Amy
Poison (2000) (TV) .... Dana
... aka Blonde Biest - Wenn Mutterliebe blind macht, Das (Germany)
... aka Tease (USA: DVD title)
The Whole Nine Yards (2000) .... Sophie Oseransky
... aka Nouveau voisin, Le (Canada: French title)
Switched at Birth (1999) (TV) .... Linda Wells
... aka Mistaken Identity (UK: video title)
... aka Two Babies: Switched at Birth (USA)
Pigeonholed (1999) .... Devon's Mother
Palmer's Pick Up (1999) .... Dawn
The '60s (1999) (TV) (uncredited) .... Hippie Mother
Sugar Town (1999) .... Eva
Interview with a Dead Man (1999)
Fait Accompli (1998) .... Jezzebelle
... aka VooDoo Dawn (USA: video title)
... aka Voodoo Dawn (USA: video title)
I'm Losing You (1998) .... Rachel Krohn
Hell's Kitchen (1998) .... Liz McNeary
... aka Hell's Kitchen N.Y.C. (USA)
Floating Away (1998) (TV) .... Maurey Talbot
Hope Floats (1998) (uncredited) .... Connie Phillips
Buffalo '66 (1998) .... Wendy Balsam
I Know What You Did (1998) (TV) .... Stacey Keane
... aka Crimes of Passion: I Know What You Did (USA: series title)
... aka In Defense of Murder (UK)
Homeslice (1998)
Do Me a Favor (1997) .... Alex Langley
... aka Trading Favors (USA: video title)
Deceiver (1997) .... Mrs. Kennesaw
... aka Liar (UK)
Gone Fishin' (1997) .... Rita
"Gun" .... Lilly Difideli (1 episode, 1997)
... aka Robert Altman's Gun
- Columbus Day (1997) TV Episode .... Lilly Difideli
"Homicide: Life on the Street" .... Caroline Widmer (1 episode,
1996)
... aka Homicide (USA: informal short title)
- The Heart of a Saturday Night (1996) TV Episode .... Caroline
Widmer
Crash (1996/I) .... Gabrielle
White Lies (1996) .... Junkie Artist
Search and Destroy (1995) .... Lauren Mirkheim
... aka The Four Rules (Australia: video title)
Nowhere to Hide (1994) (TV) .... Sarah Blake
Pulp Fiction (1994) .... Jody
The Wrong Man (1993) (TV) .... Missy Mills
Nowhere to Run (1993) .... Clydie Anderson
Fathers & Sons (1992) .... Miss Athena
In the Deep Woods (1992) (TV) .... Joanna Warren
The Linguini Incident (1991) .... Lucy
Son of the Morning Star (1991) (TV) .... Libby Custer
Flight of the Intruder (1991) .... Callie
...Almost (1990) .... Wendy
... aka Wendy Cracked a Walnut
Separation (1990) (TV) .... Sarah Weiss
... aka Don't Hang Up (USA)
Sweet Revenge (1990) .... Kate Williams
... aka Une femme parfaite (France: TV title)
Black Rainbow (1989) .... Martha Travis
New York Stories (1989) .... Paulette
Promised a Miracle (1988) (TV) .... Alice Elizabeth 'Lucky' Parker
Grand bleu, Le (1988) .... Johana Baker
... aka The Big Blue (Philippines: English title) (UK) (USA)
... aka Grand bleu, version intégrale, Le (France: director's cut)
... aka Grand bleu, version longue, Le (France: director's cut)
"Trying Times" .... Kara Dimley (1 episode, 1987)
- A Family Tree (1987) TV Episode .... Kara Dimley
Amazon Women on the Moon (1987) .... Karen (segment "Two I.D.'s")
"Saturday Night Live" .... Host (1 episode, 1986)
... aka NBC's Saturday Night (USA: first season title)
... aka SNL (USA: informal title)
... aka SNL 25 (USA: alternative title)
... aka Saturday Night (USA: second season title)
... aka Saturday Night Live '80 (USA: sixth season title)
- Rosanna Arquette/Ric Ocasek (1986) TV Episode .... Host
Nobody's Fool (1986) .... Cassie
8 Million Ways to Die (1986) .... Sarah
After Hours (1985) .... Marcy Franklin
Silverado (1985) .... Hannah
Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) .... Roberta Glass
The Aviator (1985) .... Tillie Hansen
Survival Guide (1985) (TV)
The Parade (1984) (TV) .... Tilda Kirby
... aka Hit Parade
One Cooks, the Other Doesn't (1983) (TV) .... Tracy Boone
Off the Wall (1983) .... Pam Smith
Baby It's You (1983) .... Jill Rosen
Johnny Belinda (1982) (TV) .... Belinda McAdam
The Executioner's Song (1982) (TV) .... Nicole Baker
The Wall (1982) (TV) .... Halinka Apt
A Long Way Home (1981) (TV) .... Rose Cavanaugh
S.O.B. (1981) .... Babs
Gorp (1980) .... Judy
"Shirley" (1979) TV Series .... Debra Miller (unknown episodes,
1979-1980)
More American Graffiti (1979) .... Girl in Commune
... aka Purple Haze
"The Runaways" .... Sally (1 episode, 1979)
... aka Operation Runaway
- Dreams of My Father (1979) TV Episode .... Sally
The Ordeal of Patty Hearst (1979) (TV) .... Becky
"Eight Is Enough" .... Lori West (1 episode, 1979)
- Best of Friends (1979) TV Episode .... Lori West
Zuma Beach (1978) (TV) .... Beverly
"ABC Afterschool Specials" .... Charlie Meredith (1 episode, 1978)
- Mom and Dad Can't Hear Me (1978) TV Episode .... Charlie Meredith
"The Dark Secret of Harvest Home" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Kate
Constantine
Having Babies II (1977) (TV) .... Connie |
| |
|
Rosanna Arquette - Related Links |
|
Wikipedia: Rosanna Arquette
YouTube: Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Arquette at Celebs, Inc.
Rosanna Arquette at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
Cafe |
| |
|
|
|
