Patricia Arquette

Some people are famous for 15 minutes, others are famous to 15 people but it's only a chosen few who get to be legends of the Silver Screen. Each month, Jo Mama selects a star and celebrates their life and work. This month: Patricia Arquette. Illustration by Leonie Woods.

The brilliant and beautiful, Patricia Arquette is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

She was born in the windy city of Chicago in 1968. Her mother was Jewish, her father was Muslim and she attended a Catholic school. Her father, whose family’s surname was originally Arcouet, was of part-French Canadian descent. So far, Arquette has acted in five must see movies ... True Romance (1993), in which she played the part of Alabama Whitman, Ed Wood (1994) where her role was Kathy O’Hara, Lost Highway (1997) in which she was both Renee Madison and Alice Wakefield, Human Nature (2001) in which she was Lila Jute, and Boyhood (2014) where she played the part of Olivia Evans.

Asked to describe her character in the Tarentino scripted True Romance Arquette offered: “She thinks she’s beautiful and she thinks her boyfriend Clarence is beautiful and he thinks she’s beautiful. They’re just so cool!” Tarentino has said True Romance is his most autobiographical film. The film was directed by Tony Scott, an Englishman best known for hit films such as Top Gun. There are some who believe True Romance would have been better if Tarentino directed it himself simply because then it would have been darker and less pretty but no one disputes Arquette was perfectly cast. Memorable scenes include Clarence telling his father that Alabama is “a peach. And she even tastes like a peach” whilst she calls his Doogie Daddy and does handstands. The film contains scenes of a violent nature, and one character uses racists insults that wont be to everyone’s liking but True Romance is a four star film and that is largely because of Arquette’s unique charm.

Ed Wood was directed by Tim Burton. It’s sad that it’s famous for being a film about a director of flop movies, that flopped, as it has a wonderful cast, witty dialogue, and is beautifully shot in black and white. Arquette play’s the loyal and graceful wife of an unsuccessful film director who is also a transvestite. In some ways her job in this film was the same as True Romance — play the part of an eccentric man’s dream woman.

David Lynch is an artist and Lost Highway is a work of art. Lynch was more interested in creating an atmosphere than telling a straight forward story. It may not be his masterpiece but it’s an amazing achievement. Arquette plays two different women. One is brunette and the other is blonde, both are sexy and mysterious and there’s a whole lot of double crossing going on. It’s a film one has to watch at least twice and it has some scenes that will stay with you forever.

Human Nature was written by Charlie Kaufman and was a follow up to his huge hit Being John Malkovich. Arquette’s character is a human naturist who, due to a problem with hormones, because covered in hair, she flees to the woods and becomes a famous recluse. As you’d expect, Kaufman’s script is full of great jokes about our primal urges but Arquette is such a strong actor she can make the audience really feel for her character as well as make us laugh.

Three years in the making, Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater, tells the story of a child between the ages of 6 and 18. Arquette plays the part of the boy’s long suffering mother. She is impressive throughout and no one was surprised when she was awarded a BAFTA for best supporting actress. It’s sad that, the life of Olivia in Boyhood is made so hard because of the men in her life. In recent years Arquette has produced and presented documentaries that discuss the lack of equality for women in the US. She participated in the 2017 Woman’s March against Trump and on YouTube you can see her give powerful educational speeches in which she reveals studies show a quarter of all American women will be raped and only 3% of rapists spend a day in jail.

Last Summer Patricia appeared in a documentary called, You Cannot Kill David Arquette which is about her brother attempting to return to wrestling after not getting any acting jobs. It’s the only film that features David, Rosanna, Richmond and Patricia Arquette. Who knows what the future has in store for Patricia — but whatever does happen, the talented Arquette family have given us entertainment and inspiration and won a place in our hearts and we have much to be thankful for.

Jo Mama