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Alexis Arquette Cause Of Death: Did An AIDS Complication Kill Her?

By Trisha Faulkner
Published on: 11:13 PST, Sep 12, 2016

The hearts of the LGBTQ community sank when Alexis Arquette, an actress and transgender activist, died on Sunday. According to CNN, Alexis Arquette was surrounded by her family members at the time of her death. Arquette was 47 at the time of her death, and it was her brother – Richmond Arquette – who first confirmed her death to CNN.

The question many Alexis Arquette fan have at this point is simple – what was the cause of her death? Was it an AIDS complication?

According to RadarOnline, multiple sources – including a former lover – have confirmed Alexis Arquette was living with AIDS and it was a complication with the disease that took her life.

“Alexis was living with AIDS and he [sic] had an inoperable tumor and he [sic] had developed an infection,” Robert Dupont told RadarOnline. “I [Dupont] was told that went to his [sic] liver and throughout his [sic] body.”

Robert Dupont was famously known for running within Andy Warhol’s social circles. He dated Arquette for several years during the 1990s. He claimed Alexis was placed in an “induced coma” before she passed away. According to Robert Dupont, Alexis was having an especially rough time toward the end of her life.

Alexis was living in an Actors Fund home located in West Hollywood that was specifically for people who were living with AIDS and HIV. Alexis hated living there, according to Dupont. Dupont claimed Alexis complained about people breaking into her apartment, stealing her things, and they were always doing drugs and alcohol. Dupont made a point to reiterate that the drug and alcohol scene was not a scene Arquette enjoyed.

Dupont went on to say that the Arquette family was aware of the living situation and offered Alexis a place to live with them, but Alexis wanted to be independent. She did not want to live with her family.

“Towards the end he [sic] was in a lot of pain, but he [sic] was not going to give up,” said the source. “He [sic] was holding on so hard at the end and he [sic] was such a fighter. Alexis was sick for so long,” a second source told RadarOnline. The second source went on to support what Dupont had said about drugs and alcohol not being a part of the life Alexis lived.

Dupont, however, believes Alexis is happy now that she is no longer in pain and believes she is dancing at a big party in heaven now.

Alexis Arquette was an actress most people knew best from her roles in The Wedding Singer and Pulp Fiction. Born under the name Robert, Alexis was the sibling of a number of famous actors and actresses including Rosanna, David, and Patricia Arquette. In 2007, she starred in a film about her transition to becoming a woman. The film was titled – Alexis Arquette: She’s My Brother. The film quickly became a popular film on the film festival circuits.

Alexis Arquette began her career in acting at a very early age. In fact, her very first role was a transvestite named Georgette in the 1989 film titled Last Exit to Brooklyn. After that film, she went on to appear in dozens of different roles for a number of low-budget movies and television shows.

In the LGBTQ community, Alexis Arquette was identified as one of the very first high-profile advocates for transgender rights. She also claimed to have started identifying as a woman at a very young age.

In 2009, during an interview on Larry King Live, Alexis told Dr. Drew Pinksy that she was born into “a pretty liberal family.” She claimed she was wearing makeup by the time she was just 12-years-old and her family was never really in denial of who she was as a person. In fact, her family was just worried about how people in the real world would treat her and perceive her if she lived her life as a woman.

Does the fact that Alexis Arquette’s cause of death has been confirmed as a complication of AIDS by a number of sources change the way you feel about her?

[Photo by Carlo Allegri/Getty Images]

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