Tragic Struggle: Inside Alexis Arquette's Painful Gender Identity Crisis
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Sep. 14 2016, Published 6:40 p.m. ET
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Alexis Arquette died less than one week ago and — as family members and friends of the late 47-year-old trans rights pioneer gather to pay their final respects — RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned the shocking and sad truth about why she died as a man!
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/Ictwxk3dW/334x500/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-02.jpg 334w)
According to an Arquette family friend, "Alexis's real name is Robert but she had everyone call her Alexis from a very young age. At the time, no one knew why she wanted to be called Alexis. She just did."
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/PazShJM_4/400x500/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-01.jpg 400w)
"Alexis really struggled early on in life because she repressed her true self to everyone," said the source.
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/_Q3dErJmw/356x500/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-03.jpg 356w)
As Alexis's career in acting took off — following in the famous footsteps of sister Patricia, 57, and brother David Arquette, 48 — the insider told RadarOnline.com, "She kept switching back and forth between male and female and it got really confusing to everyone."
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/Ggme1IoTC/341x500/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-04.jpg 341w)
As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Alexis revealed her true feelings about her own transition in a 2008 video — where she said she would "rather die on a hospital table" than to give up on living her true identity.
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"Alexis's real only goal in life was to eventually get the sex change surgery that would make her final step in becoming a woman complete," said the source. But because of her AIDS and other health issues, the source said, "It was impossible for her to do so."
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/ifsF3AFxo/322x499/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-07.jpg 322w)
Indeed, the press release issued by her family upon her death said that she died as their "brother." Said the insider, "This is not what Alexis wanted with her life. She wanted to become a real woman through and through. She wanted a family and she wanted kids."
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![Alexis Arquette Dead AIDS Gender-Crisis](https://media.radaronline.com/brand-img/U1AwA1Cvj/353x500/2016/09/Alexis-Arquette-Dead-AIDS-Gender-Crisis-08.jpg 353w)
Photographed here as her male persona, the insider said, "Alexis felt like she was born into the wrong body and the fact that she did not ever get to become the woman she wanted on the outside undoubtedly left deep scars."
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