Richard Gere

Infobox actor


caption = Gere in Venice, 2007
birthname = Richard Tiffany Gere
birthdate = birth date and age|1949|8|31
birthplace = Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
othernames =
yearsactive = 1973 - present
goldenglobeawards = Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2003 "Chicago"
sagawards = Best Cast - Motion Picture
2002 "Chicago"
spouse = Cindy Crawford (1991-1995)

Carey Lowell (2002-present)

Richard Tiffany Gerecite web | last=Roberts| first=Gary Boyd| authorlink=| coauthors=| title="The New England Ancestry of Actor Richard (Tiffany) Gere"| publisher=New England Historic Genealogical Society| date =| url=http://www.newenglandancestors.org/education/articles/research/special_guests/gary_boyd_roberts/74_659_474.asp| format =| accessdate =2007-01-12 ] (born August 31, 1949) is a Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning American actor. A prototypical leading man of romantic and dramatic films, he first became famous during the 1980s, and has since managed to retain his status.

During the 1990s and 2000s, he starred in several well-received films, "Pretty Woman", "Primal Fear", and "Chicago", for which he won a Golden Globe award as Best Actor.

Biography

Early life

Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gere is a descendant of "Mayflower" Pilgrims Francis Eaton, John Billington, George Soule, Richard Warren, Degory Priest, William Brewster and Francis Cooke. Gere's mother, Doris Anna (née Tiffany), was a homemaker, and his father, Homer George Gere, was an insurance agent for the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and had originally intended to become a minister.Stated in interview on "Inside the Actors Studio", 2002] Gere has three sisters and a brother. In 1967, he graduated from North Syracuse Central High School, where he excelled at gymnastics and music, playing the trumpet. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, majoring in Philosophy, but did not graduate, leaving after two years. [http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/105:713/1/Richard_Gere.htm "Richard Gere Biography"] , Carey Latimore, "The Biography Channel". Retrieved May 1, 2007.]

Career

Gere first worked professionally at the Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod in 1971 where he starred in "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead." Gere's first major acting role was in the original London stage version of "Grease" in 1973. He began appearing in Hollywood films in the mid 1970s, co-starring in the thriller "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (1977) and playing the leading role in director Terrence Malick's well-reviewed 1978 film, "Days of Heaven". In 1980, Gere appeared in the Broadway production of "Bent". His acting career took off that year with the successful film "American Gigolo", followed by the popular romantic drama "An Officer and a Gentleman", which had grossed over $100 million in 1982. Subsequently, he was the first man ever to appear on the cover of "Vogue" magazine.

Gere's career in the 1980s alternated between box office successes and failures. After the release of both "Internal Affairs" and the box office hit "Pretty Woman" in 1990, Gere's status as a leading man was again solidified, and he continued starring in solidly performing films throughout the 1990s, including "Sommersby" (1993), "Primal Fear" (1996), and "Runaway Bride" (1999), which paired Gere with his "Pretty Woman" co-star, Julia Roberts. In " Mr. Jones", Gere accurately portrayed a high-functioning, creative, and intellectual man with bipolar disorder. The movie was not a commercial success, but was well-received by the mental health community. It is frequently utilized as a training tool to acquaint students and families with the disorder.

"People" magazine named Gere the "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1999. In 2002, he appeared in three major releases: the horror thriller "The Mothman Prophecies", the drama "Unfaithful", and the Academy Award-winning film version of "Chicago", for which he won a Golden Globe as "Best Actor - Comedy or Musical". Gere's 2004 ballroom dancing drama, "Shall We Dance", was also a solid performer, although his next film, "Bee Season", failed to find an audience amid the Oscar-contenders of November 2005.

Gere was Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals' "Man of the Year" for 2006. In July 2006, he was cast opposite Jesse Eisenberg and Terrence Howard in "The Hunting Party", a comic thriller in which he played a journalist in Bosnia; the film was released in September of 2007.cite web | title=KillerMovies | work=Jesse Eisenberg Joins [Spring Break in Bosnia] | url=http://www.killermovies.com/s/springbreakinbosnia/articles/6307.html | accessmonthday=July 3 | accessyear=2006]

Personal life & activism

Gere was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, he married actress Carey Lowell. They have a son, Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in 2000 and is named after Gere's father.

Gere was raised by Methodist parents; [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/in_depth/uk/2000/newsmakers/2591237.stm BBC NEWS | In Depth | Newsmakers | Richard Gere: On guard ] ] his interest in Buddhism began when he traveled to Nepal in 1978 with the Brazilian painter, Sylvia Martins. [http://www.thebiographychannel.co.uk/biography_story/105:713/1/Richard_Gere.htm "Richard Gere Biography"] , Carey Latimore, "The Biography Channel". Retrieved May 12, 2007.] He is a practicing Buddhist and an active supporter of the Dalai Lama. Gere is also a persistent advocate for human rights in Tibet; he is a co-founder of the Tibet House, creator of The Gere Foundation, and he is Chairman of the Board of Directors for the International Campaign for Tibet. Because he strongly supports the Tibetan Independence Movement, he is permanently banned from entering The People's Republic of China. Gere was banned as an Academy Award presenter in 1993 after he used the opportunity to condemn the Chinese government. [ [http://www.hellomagazine.com/profiles/richardgere/ An in-depth look at your favourite celebrity personalities - hellomagazine.com, HELLO! ] ] In September 2007, Gere called for the boycott of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games to put pressure on China to make Tibet independent. On the March 14, 2008 The Situation Room, Gere spoke against China's crackdown on the uprising in Tibet.Fact|date=July 2008 He also starred in a politically themed pro-Tibet Lancia commercial featuring the Lancia Delta. [ [http://paultan.org/archives/2008/07/06/lancia-delta-richard-gere-tv-commercial/ Richard Gere stars in pro-Tibet Lancia TV commercial] ]

Gere campaigns for ecological causes and AIDS awareness. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for Healing the Divide, an organization that supports global initiatives to promote peace, justice and understanding, [ [http://www.healingthedivide.org Healing The Divide ] ] and he also actively supports Survival International, an organization dedicated to protecting the rights and lands of tribal peoples throughout the world. He helped to establish the AIDS Care Home, a residential facility in India for women and children with AIDS, and also supports campaigns for AIDS awareness and education that country. In 1999 he created the Gere Foundation India Trust to support a variety of humanitarian programs in India. [ [http://www.gerefoundation.org/bio.html The Gere Foundation] . Retrieved May 12, 2007.]

On April 15, 2007 Gere appeared at an AIDS awareness rally in Jaipur, India. During a live news conference to promote condom use among truck drivers, the American actor affectionately embraced Bollywood superstar Shilpa Shetty, dipped her, and kissed her several times on the cheek. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdnaHHns3c0 YouTube - Richard Gere kissing Shilpa Shetty ] ] As a result of that seemingly innocuous gesture, a local court ordered the arrest of Gere and Shetty, finding them in violation "public obscenity" laws. Gere, who quickly fled the country, has said the controversy was "manufactured by a small hard-line political party." About a month later, a two-judge bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, KG Balakrishnan described the case as "frivolous" and believed that such complaints (against celebrities) were filed for "cheap publicity" and have brought a bad name to the country. They ruled that "Richard Gere is free to enter the country. This is the end of the matter." [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7295797.stm BBC NEWS | South Asia | Richard Gere cleared of obscenity ] ]

Filmography

References

External links

*imdb name|id=0000152|name=Richard Gere
* [http://web.archive.org/web/19991009190431/http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1998/5/23_4.html Defended India's nuclear tests]
* [http://gerefoundation.org/ The Gere Foundation]
*The Druk White Lotus School ( [http://dwls.org/ external link] ) of which Gere is an Honorary Patron.
* [http://www.shambhalasun.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1882&Itemid=0 Shambhala Sun Interview]