Rosanna Lisa Arquette is an American actress, film director, and producer.
Background
Arquette was born in New York City, the daughter of Brenda Olivia "Mardi" (née Nowak. 1939–1997), an actress, poet, theater operator, activist, acting teacher, and therapist, and Lewis Arquette (1935–2001), a film actor, writer, and producer. Her mother was Jewish (from a family that emigrated from Poland and Russia).
Her father, whose family"s surname was originally "Arcouet", was of part French-Canadian descent.
Her father was a convert from Catholicism to Islam. Through him, Rosanna is distantly related to explorer Meriwether Lewis.
Career
Her paternal grandfather was comedian Cliff Arquette. Her siblings, Patricia, Alexis, Richmond, and David Arquette, are also actors. Arquette has appeared in both television and screen films.
Arquette"s first starring role was in John Sayles"s 1983 film, Baby lieutenant"s You, a highly regarded but little seen film.
Madonna was breaking out at the time and though many feel that while Arquette"s performance was central to the movie"s success, Madonna made the movie into a mainstream hit. She had negotiated a deal where she would provide a song for the movie.
"Into The Groove" became a huge hit for Madonna as did the movie itself. In an interview at the time, Arquette said "The two questions I hate the most are "What was it like working with Madonna?" and "Are you the Rosanna in the song "Rosanna"?" Following the commercial and critical success of Lawrence Kasdan"s Silverado in 1985, and the failure of both After Hours and 8 Million Ways to Die, she quit Hollywood to work in Europe where she acted in Luc Besson"s The Big Blue (1988).
In 1989, director Martin Scorsese offered her a part in New York Stories.
Other movies of note are Pulp Fiction and the David Cronenberg film, Crash and the Australian film Wendy Cracked a Walnut (1990) (also known as …Almost). 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 consent. In recent years, Arquette has expanded into directing, including the documentaries Searching for Debra Winger (2002) and All We Are Saying (2005).
She also produced both projects.
Arquette appeared in the short running What About Brian as Nicole Varsi and on Showtime"s The L Word as Cherie Jaffe. She also guest starred on Malcolm in the Middle as a healer named Anita who takes Malcolm"s virginity.
Bryan Cranston, one of her former co-stars from Amazon Women on the Moon, also played Malcolm"s dad Hal. In 2009, she joined Fit Parent Magazine, founded by Craig Knight, as Editor at Large.
Arquette stars in the French thriller The Divide, directed by Xavier Generals