Richard Gere
Richard Gere | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Tiffany Gere Birth date -1st March 1966 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
Occupation | Actor, producer, humanitarian |
Years active | 1969–present |
Children | 3 |
Richard Tiffany Gere (born August 31, 1949) is an American actor and humanitarian. He began his film career in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and a starring role in Days of Heaven (1978). He came to prominence with his role in the film American Gigolo (1980), which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in many successful films, including An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Pretty Woman (1990), Primal Fear (1996), Runaway Bride (1999), Chicago (2002), and Arbitrage (2012).
Early life[edit | edit source]
Richard Gere was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Doris Ann (née Tiffany), a homemaker, and Homer George Gere, an insurance agent. He grew up in Syracuse, New York, and graduated from North Syracuse Central High School in 1967. Gere attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, majoring in philosophy, but he left after two years to pursue acting.
Career[edit | edit source]
Early career[edit | edit source]
Gere's career began on the stage in the early 1970s. He appeared in several productions with the Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod. His first major acting role was in the original London stage version of Grease in 1973.
Breakthrough and success[edit | edit source]
Gere's breakthrough role came in 1980 with the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He followed this with a string of successful films, including An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), for which he received a Golden Globe Award nomination, and Pretty Woman (1990), which was a massive box office hit.
Later career[edit | edit source]
In the 2000s, Gere continued to work steadily, appearing in films such as Chicago (2002), for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and Arbitrage (2012), for which he received critical acclaim.
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Gere has been married three times. His first marriage was to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. He married actress Carey Lowell in 2002, and they have a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, born in 2000. The couple separated in 2013 and finalized their divorce in 2016. In 2018, Gere married Spanish activist Alejandra Silva, and they have two sons together.
Humanitarian work[edit | edit source]
Gere is known for his humanitarian efforts, particularly in support of human rights in Tibet. He is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist and a strong advocate for the Tibetan independence movement. He is also involved in various other charitable causes, including AIDS awareness and homelessness.
Filmography[edit | edit source]
- Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977)
- Days of Heaven (1978)
- American Gigolo (1980)
- An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
- Pretty Woman (1990)
- Primal Fear (1996)
- Runaway Bride (1999)
- Chicago (2002)
- Arbitrage (2012)
Awards and nominations[edit | edit source]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
External links[edit | edit source]
Navigation: Wellness - Encyclopedia - Health topics - Disease Index - Drugs - World Directory - Gray's Anatomy - Keto diet - Recipes
Search WikiMD
Ad.Tired of being Overweight? Try W8MD's physician weight loss program.
Semaglutide (Ozempic / Wegovy and Tirzepatide (Mounjaro / Zepbound) available.
Advertise on WikiMD
WikiMD is not a substitute for professional medical advice. See full disclaimer.
Credits:Most images are courtesy of Wikimedia commons, and templates Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY SA or similar.- Use mdy dates from October 2023
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1949 births
- Living people
- American male film actors
- American male stage actors
- American humanitarians
- Male actors from Philadelphia
- University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni
- Golden Globe Award winners
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- Tibetan Buddhists from the United States
- American Buddhists
- Converts to Buddhism
- American expatriates in the United Kingdom
- American expatriates in Spain
Contributors: Prab R. Tumpati, MD