Patricia ARQUETTE
Actress
United States
Guest of Honor
Patricia Arquette is a 4th generation actor. She received the Academy Award for her work in “Boyhood,” the critically acclaimed 12-year project from Richard Linklater, for which she also won the Golden Globe, BAFTA, SAG, New York Film Critics Circle, Los Angeles Film Critics, and Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture. Patricia is currently working on her directing debut with GONZO GIRL, a feature film based on the best-selling novel by Cheryl Della Pietra, which will star Willem Dafoe, Camila Morrone and Ray Nicholson.
Arquette next starred in the half-hour dramedy; “High Desert” that she developed with showrunners, Nancy Fichman, Katie Ford, and Jennifer Hoppe, 3 Arts Entertainment, Ben Stiller and Red Hour. Arquette produced and starred in this series for Apple TV with all episodes directed by Jay Roach.
Recently, Patricia stars opposite Adam Scott, John Turturro and Christopher Walken in the critically acclaimed Apple TV+ series SEVERANCE, directed and produced by Ben Stiller. Patricia also starred in Showtime’s eight-hour miniseries directed by Ben Stiller, “Escape at Dannemora,” opposite Benicio del Toro and Paul Dano. Her performance won the Golden Globe, SAG, and Critics’ Choice awards, for Best Actress in a Limited Television Series. Other recent works include the critically acclaimed series “The Act” for Hulu, for which she won an Emmy and Golden Globe and was nominated for a SAG, and Critics’ Choice award. She was nominated for the rare double Emmy awards for her performances in both “Escape at Dannemora” and “The Act”.
She also starred as Allison Dubois in “Medium,” on CBS, for which she received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and subsequent Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG nominations. Arquette also had leading roles in numerous other television drama series including “CSI: Cyber” and “Boardwalk Empire.” Arquette has worked with a stellar list of directors, acting in critically acclaimed films including Sean Penn’s “The Indian Runner,” Tony Scott’s “True Romance,” Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out the Dead”, David Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” John Madden’s “Ethan Frome,” David O. Russell’s “Flirting With Disaster,” and Michael Gondry’s “Human Nature.”
Upon winning the Academy Award in 2015 for her role in “Boyhood”, Arquette made a powerfully memorable acceptance speech calling attention to pay inequality experienced by women in the United States and the need for the Equal Rights Amendment. Recognized as an outspoken advocate for women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, and civil rights for all people, she has become a sought-after guest speaker. She has received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian award as well as GLAAD’s Vanguard Award. She spoke at the UN and helped launch the UN Women Equal Pay Platform and received the Eleanor Roosevelt award in 2019 from the Feminist Majority. In April of 2019, Arquette was a witness testifying before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee on the subject of the Equal Rights Amendment. This was the first hearing on the E.R.A. in 36 years.
Arquette founded the skills training organization, GiveLove, to help provide sustainable sanitation solutions in the developing world. GiveLove’s work extends to Columbia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Uganda and recently at Standing Rock with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The granddaughter of comedian Cliff Arquette (best known for his television personality “Charlie Weaver”), Arquette comes from a family ensconced in the entertainment industry. Her father was actor Lewis Arquette and her siblings – Rosanna, Richmond, David and her late sister are all actors. Born in Chicago, Arquette currently resides in Los Angeles.