Rosanna Arquette Says Toto's Song 'Rosanna' Isn't About Her — but Another Famous Ballad Actually Is (Exclusive)
- - Rosanna Arquette Says Toto's Song 'Rosanna' Isn't About Her — but Another Famous Ballad Actually Is (Exclusive)
Gillian TellingJanuary 31, 2026 at 4:30 AM
0
Rosanna Arquette in 2021
Amy Graves/Getty
Rosanna Arquette tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that Toto's famous song “Rosanna" isn't about her, though she thinks it was definitely inspired by her
The actress previously dated the band's founding member, Steve Porcaro, in the early 1980s
Still, Arquette says there is a popular ballad that is actually about her
Rosanna Arquette is known for a lot of things, including being the eldest sibling in the famous Arquette family of actors, as well as for her roles in pop culture touchstones like 1985’s Desperately Seeking Susan and 1994’s Pulp Fiction.
However, Arquette, 66, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview that Toto's famous song “Rosanna" isn't necessarily about her — but it was definitely inspired by her.
“People come up to me about that all the time,” she says with a laugh, then explaining that the tune was written by Toto's David Paich in the early 1980s, when she was dating founding member Steve Porcaro.
And though Arquette says the song isn't a tribute to her, she still thinks Paich, 71, definitely borrowed her name for the title. “I was around them all the time. They were wonderful musicians,” she says.
— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Peter Gabriel (left) and Rosanna Arquette (right) in 1991.
Ron Galella/getty
While “Rosanna" might not be about her, Arquette admits that one popular ballad actually is: “In Your Eyes," Peter Gabriel's 1989 hit.
“That was about me,” she tells PEOPLE of the song that was made famous after it was played during a pivotal scene in the film Say Anything. (Arquette and Gabriel, 75, dated for several years, and they lived together in the U.K. for a while.)
“I love musicians. Most of my friends are musicians. Chrissie Hynde is my daughter's Godmother," Arquette says, referring to the lead singer of The Pretenders.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
"There’s something about the power and the energy of music. It’s really healing. It's the language that we all understand, and it truly communicates without words," she continues. "It's just a feeling, and I love it."
Arquette was also briefly married to film composer James Newton Howard in the mid-80s, and she says they're still great friends.
Arquette tells PEOPLE that when it comes to being an artist's muse nowadays, she'd prefer to leave that in her past.
"Unless they're really evolved, in a way they're using your energy, and you just keep giving and giving, and you're left with the crumbs for yourself," she further explains.
Arquette is currently enjoying the spotlight once again, starring in the upcoming Charli xcx film, The Moment, which is partly inspired by 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap.
And while she's loving being busy with work again, the star adds that she's also just happy to be at peace personally after a bumpy past four years that included a divorce and a move to the East Coast.
"I feel like I've been released from prison in a way," Arquette says of her revamped life now. "I just know I'm ready for anything."
The Moment is in theaters now.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
