Patricia Arquette was in Washington this week to represent The Creative Coalition at the White House’s Champions of Change initiative.

For her role as Allison Dubois on the critically acclaimed series “Medium,” Arquette has received numerous accolades, including the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and many subsequent Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. 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, Alexis, Richmond and David — are all actors.

Arquette recently wrapped shooting Patricia Riggen’s “See If I Care” opposite Eva Mendes. Her feature film credits include Richard Linklater’s “12 Year Movie aka Boyhood,” “Holes,” “The Badge” and “Little Nicky.” Arquette has worked with a stellar list of directors in such critically acclaimed films as: Martin Scorsese’s “Bringing Out the Dead,” Rupert Wainwright’s “Stigmata,” Sean Penn’s “The Indian Runner,” John Madden’s “Ethan Frome,” Tony Scott’s “True Romance,” Tim Burton’s “Ed Wood,” David O. Russell’s “Flirting With Disaster,” John Boorman’s “Beyond Rangoon,” “Lost Highway” (in a dual role for David Lynch), Steven Frears’s “Hi Lo Country” and Roland Jaffe’s “Goodbye Lover.” Among Arquette’s TV movie credits is “Wildflower,” directed by Diane Keaton, for which Arquette earned a CableAce Award as Best Lead Actress.

Last spring, after visiting Haiti and seeing firsthand the destruction caused by the devastating earthquake that hit the island, Arquette started up the charity GiveLove (www.givelove.org) to help provide victims with sustainable housing and assist in rebuilding communities in the aftermath of the disaster.

My Five Minutes with the President