Early life

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 paternal grandfather was comedian Cliff Arquette. 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. Her siblings, Patricia, Alexis, Richmond, and David Arquette, are also actors.

Career

Arquette has appeared in both television and screen films. In 1982, she earned an Emmy Award nomination for the TV film The Executioner's Song. Arquette's first starring role was in John Sayles's 1983 film, Baby It's You, a highly regarded but little seen film. She starred in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) alongside pop singer Madonna, for which she won a British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) for her "supporting" role despite her clearly being the lead. 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 Gens.

Personal life

In August 2013, Arquette married her fourth husband, investment banker Todd Morgan, following a two-year engagement. Her previous marriages, to director Tony Greco, musical composer James Newton Howard, and restaurateur John Sidel, all ended in divorce. She has one daughter, Zoe Bleu, with Sidel.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	More American Graffiti	Girl in Commune
1980	Gorp	Judy
1981	S.O.B.	Babs
1983	Baby It's You	Jill Rosen
1985	Aviator, TheThe Aviator	Tillie Hansen
1985	Desperately Seeking Susan	Roberta Glass / 'Susan'
1985	Silverado	Hannah
1985	After Hours	Marcy Franklin
1986	8 Million Ways to Die	Sarah
1986	Nobody's Fool	Cassie
1987	Amazon Women on the Moon	Karen	Segment: "Two I.D.'s"
1988	Big Blue, TheThe Big Blue	Johana Baker
1989	New York Stories	Paulette	Segment: "Life Lessons"
1989	Black Rainbow	Martha Travis
1990	Wendy Cracked A Walnut	Wendy	Re-titled ...Almost
1991	Flight of the Intruder	Callie Joy
1991	Linguini Incident, TheThe Linguini Incident	Lucy
1992	Fathers & Sons	Miss Athena
1993	Nowhere to Run	Clydie Anderson
1994	Pulp Fiction	Jody
1994	La Cité de la peur	Rosanna Arquette
1995	Search and Destroy	Lauren Mirkheim
1996	Crash	Gabrielle
1997	Gone Fishin'	Rita
1997	Deceiver	Mrs. Kennesaw
1998	Buffalo '66	Wendy Balsam
1998	Hope Floats	Connie Phillips	Uncredited
1998	Hell's Kitchen	Liz McNeary
1998	I'm Losing You	Rachel Krohn
1998	Fait Accompli	Jezzebelle
1999	Sugar Town	Eva
2000	Whole Nine Yards, TheThe Whole Nine Yards	Sophie Oseransky
2001	Things Behind the Sun	Pete
2001	Joe Dirt	Charlene the Gator Farmer	Uncredited
2001	Big Bad Love	Velma
2001	Good Advice	Cathy Sherman
2001	Diary of a Sex Addict	Grace Horn	Video
2004	Dead Cool	Deirdre
2005	My Suicidal Sweetheart	Vera	AKA, Crazy for Love
2005	Kids in America	Abby Pratt
2006	I-See-You.Com	Lydia Ann Layton
2007	Battle for Terra	Professor Lina (voice)
2008	Ball Don't Lie	Francine
2009	Repo Chick	Lola
2009	American Pie Presents: The Book of Love	Madeline Shearson
2010	Inhale	Dr. Rubin
2011	Convincing Clooney	JC
2011	Divide, TheThe Divide	Marilyn
2011	Exodus Fall	Marilyn Minor
2011	Peace, Love & Misunderstanding	Darcy
2012	Hardflip	Bethany Jones
2014	Draft Day	Angie
2015	Larry Gaye: Renegade Male Flight Attendant	TV Anchorwoman
2015	Kill Your Friends	Barbara
2016	Frank & Lola	Patricia
2016	Lovesong	Eleanor
2017	The Etruscan Smile	Claudia	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Dark Secret of Harvest Home, TheThe Dark Secret of Harvest Home	Kate Constantine	TV miniseries
1978	What Really Happened to the Class of '65?	Nancy	Episode: "Mr. Potential"
1978	Zuma Beach	Beverly	TV film
1978	James at 16	Karen Waller	Episode: "An Hour Before Midnight"
1978	ABC Afterschool Special	Charlie Meredith	Episode: "Mom and Dad Can't Hear Me"
1979	Eight Is Enough	Lori West	Episode: "Best of Friends"
1979-1980	Shirley	Debra Miller	Main role (13 episodes)
1981	Here's Boomer	Ginny	Episode: "Good Looking"
1982	Executioner's Song, TheThe Executioner's Song	Nicole Baker	TV film
1982	Johnny Belinda	Belinda McAdam	TV film
1983	Insight	Jo	Episode: "Butterfly"
1984	Parade, TheThe Parade	Tilda Kirby	TV film
1986	Saturday Night Live	Host	Recorded October 25, 1986, broadcast two weeks later. With musical guest Ric Ocasek.
1988	Promised a Miracle	Lucky Parker
1990	Separation	Sarah Weiss	TV film
1991	Son of the Morning Star	Libby Custer	TV film
1993	Wrong Man, TheThe Wrong Man	Missy Mills	TV film
1996	Homicide: Life on the Street	Caroline Widmer	Episode: "The Heart of a Saturday Night"
1997	Gun	Lilly Difideli	Episode: "Columbus Day"
1998	I Know What You Did	Stacey Keane	TV film
1999	The '60s	Hippie mother	TV miniseries Uncredited
1999	Switched at Birth	Linda Wells	TV film Also known as Mistaken Identity
2000	Poison	Dana Lazlo	TV film Also known as Tease
2001	Huntress, TheThe Huntress	Arlene Potts	Episode: "Black Widow"
2002	Going to California	Helen	Episode: "Home Games"
2003	Practice, TheThe Practice	Brenda Miller	Episode: "Character Evidence"
2003	Will & Grace	Julie	Episodes: "Fagmalion Part 1: Gay It Forward", "Women and Children First"
2004	Summerland	Ronnie	Episode: "Skipping School"
2004	L Word, TheThe L Word	Cherie Jaffe	Episodes: "Luck, Next Time", "Liberally", "Limb from Limb"
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Kay Connelly	Episode: "Sex Club"
2005	Malcolm in the Middle	Anita	Episode: "Burning Man"
2005	Grey's Anatomy	Constance Ferguson	Episode: "Owner of a Lonely Heart"
2006	L Word, TheThe L Word	Cherie Jaffe	Episode: "Lifeline"
2006-2007	What About Brian	Nicole Varzi	Main role (24 episodes)
2007	L Word, TheThe L Word	Cherie Jaffe	Episode: "Legend in the Making"
2008	Dirt	Mia	Episode: "And the Winner Is"
2008	Medium	Michelle Todd	Episode: "Lady Killer"
2008	Lipstick Jungle	Tina Atwood	Episode: "Let the Games Begin"
2009	Northern Lights	Charlene Galligan	TV film
2009	Eastwick	Greta Noa	Episodes: "Paint and Pleasure", "Tasers and Mind Erasers"
2010	Private Practice	Corinne	Episodes: "Shotgun", "'Til Death Do Us Part"
2012	Royal Pains	Louise 'Lou' Hunter	Episodes: "Something Fishy This Way Comes", "Sand Legs"
2013	Girls	Petula	Episode: "Video Games"
2013-2014	Ray Donovan	Linda	Episodes: "Bridget", "Fite Nite", "Yo Soy Capitan", "S U C K", "Irish Spring", "The Captain"
2014	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Alexa Pierson	Episode: "Wednesday's Child"
2015	CSI: Cyber	Trish McCarthy	Episode: "Selfie 2.0"

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Production	Result
1983	Primetime Emmy	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special	The Executioner's Song	Nominated
1984	Boston Society of Film Critics Awards	Best Actress	Baby It's You	Won
1986	BAFTA Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Desperately Seeking Susan	Won
1986	Golden Globe	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical	Desperately Seeking Susan	Nominated
1986	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	After Hours	Nominated
1987	BAFTA Awards	Best Actress in a Supporting Role	After Hours	Nominated
1989	Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival	Best Actress	Black Rainbow	Won
1990	Australian Film Institute	Best Actress in a Lead Role	...Almost	Nominated
1990	Fantasporto	International Fantasy Film Award	Black Rainbow	Won
1991	Mystfest	Best Actress	Black Rainbow	Won
2000	Teen Choice Awards	Film - Choice Hissy Fit	The Whole Nine Yards	Nominated
2007	Fantasporto	Special Career Award		Won

[ Source: Wikipedia ]