Richard Gere is an American film actor who rose to the peak of fame with his roles in Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, and American Gigolo. In 2002, he won a Golden Globe Award for his performance in Chicago. He was also named “Sexiest Man Alive” by People magazine in 1999.

Richard Gere, whose full name is Richard Tiffany Gere, was born on August 31, 1949, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. His mother, Doris Anna, was a homemaker, while his father, Homer George Gere, worked for a major insurance company and was also a local politician. He grew up in Philadelphia with three sisters and one brother.

Gere graduated from North Syracuse Central High School in 1967. During his high school years, he played the trumpet and excelled in athletics. After graduation, he entered the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, studying philosophy, but he left the university after two years without completing his degree.

His first professional acting experience came in 1971 at the Provincetown Playhouse in Cape Cod, where he performed in the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. His first major theater role followed in 1973 with the British stage adaptation of the musical Grease in London.

Gere made his cinematic debut in 1977 with Looking for Mr. Goodbar, and his first leading film role came a year later in Days of Heaven. The film that turned him into an international star was American Gigolo (1980). Starring alongside Lauren Hutton, the film was produced on a $4 million budget and grossed $23 million.

The romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) became his most commercially successful film up to that time, earning $130 million worldwide. However, his career experienced a downturn afterward, lasting until the release of Pretty Woman (1990).

Starring opposite Julia Roberts, Pretty Woman marked the second major rise of Gere’s career. Produced on a modest $14 million budget, the film grossed $463 million worldwide and became one of the most-watched films of the 1990s. Gere and Roberts later reunited for Runaway Bride (1999).

In 1996, Gere starred in Primal Fear, followed by The Jackal in 1997, where he shared the lead role with Bruce Willis. His performance in The Jackal received strong critical acclaim. In the same year, People magazine once again recognized him as the “Sexiest Man Alive.”

In 2002, Gere appeared in the film adaptation of the musical Chicago, portraying the character Billy Flynn. This role earned him both a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. His later notable films include Nights in Rodanthe (2008), Amelia (2009), and Brooklyn’s Finest (2010).

Richard Gere was married to supermodel Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. On November 9, 2002, he married model and actress Carey Lowell, with whom he has a son named Homer James Gere. The couple divorced in 2013.

Raised in the Methodist faith, Gere converted to Buddhism after a trip to Nepal in 1978 and became a student of the Dalai Lama. Due to his activism regarding human rights in Tibet, he was banned from entering the People’s Republic of China. In 1993, after criticizing China during the Academy Awards ceremony, he was permanently removed from future Oscar presenting and jury duties.

In April 2018, Gere married Spanish activist Alejandra Silva in a private ceremony. He became a father for the second time at the age of 71 on April 23, 2020.

Marriages:
1. Wife: Cindy Crawford (m. 1991–1995)
2. Wife: Carey Lowell (m. 2002–2016) – One son: Homer James Jigme Gere (b. 2000)
3. Wife: Alejandra Silva (m. 2018) – Two sons: Alexander Gere (b. 2019) and Albert Friedland (b. 2020)

Filmography

Producer
1993 – Sommersby (Feature Film)

Actor
2020 – Three Christs (Dr. Stone) (Feature Film)
2019 – MotherFatherSon (Max Finch) (TV Series)
2017 – Three Christs (Dr. Stone) (Feature Film)
2017 – The Dinner (Stan Lohman) (Feature Film)
2016 – Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer (Norman Oppenheimer) (Feature Film)
2015 – The Benefactor (Franny) (Feature Film)
2015 – The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (Guy) (Feature Film)
2014 – Time Out of Mind (George) (Feature Film)
2014 – Franny (Franny) (Feature Film)
2014 – Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Clair Patterson) (TV Series)
2013 – Movie 43 (The Boss) (Feature Film)
2012 – Arbitrage (Robert Miller) (Feature Film)
2011 – The Double (Paul Shepherdson) (Feature Film)
2010 – Journey from Zanskar (Narrator) (Feature Film)
2009 – Hachi: A Dog’s Tale (Parker Wilson) (Feature Film)
2009 – Brooklyn’s Finest (Eddie Dugan) (Feature Film)
2009 – Amelia (George Putnam) (Feature Film)
2008 – Nights in Rodanthe (Dr. Paul Flanner) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Hoax (Clifford Irving) (Feature Film)
2007 – I’m Not There (Billy the Kid) (Feature Film)
2007 – The Hunting Party (Simon Hunt) (Feature Film)
2006 – I Love the ’70s: Volume 2 (Himself) (TV Series)
2005 – Bee Season (Saul) (Feature Film)
2004 – Shall We Dance? (John Clark) (Feature Film)
2002 – The Mothman Prophecies (John Klein) (Feature Film)
2002 – Chicago (Billy Flynn) (Feature Film)
2000 – Autumn in New York (Will Keane) (Feature Film)
2000 – Dr. T & the Women (Dr. T) (Feature Film)
1999 – Runaway Bride (Ike Graham) (Feature Film)
1997 – The Jackal (Declan Joseph Mulqueen) (Feature Film)
1997 – Red Corner (Jack Moore) (Feature Film)
1996 – Primal Fear (Martin Vail) (Feature Film)
1995 – First Knight (Lancelot) (Feature Film)
1994 – Intersection (Vincent Eastman) (Feature Film)
1993 – Sommersby (John Sommersby) (Feature Film)
1993 – And the Band Played On (Choreographer) (TV Film)
1993 – Mr. Jones (Mr. Jones) (Feature Film)
1992 – Final Analysis (Dr. Isaac Barr) (Feature Film)
1991 – Rhapsody in August (Clark) (Feature Film)
1990 – Pretty Woman (Edward Lewis) (Feature Film)
1990 – Internal Affairs (Dennis Peck) (Feature Film)
1988 – Miles from Home (Frank Roberts) (Feature Film)
1986 – Power (Pete St. John) (Feature Film)
1986 – No Mercy (Eddie Jillette) (Feature Film)
1985 – King David (David) (Feature Film)
1985 – The Cotton Club (Dixie Dwyer) (Feature Film)
1983 – The Honorary Consul (Dr. Eduardo Plarr) (Feature Film)
1983 – Breathless (Jesse Lujack) (Feature Film)
1982 – An Officer and a Gentleman (Zack Mayo) (Feature Film)
1980 – American Gigolo (Julian Kaye) (Feature Film)
1979 – Yanks (Matt Dyson) (Feature Film)
1978 – Days of Heaven (Bill) (Feature Film)
1978 – Bloodbrothers (Thomas Stony De Coco) (Feature Film)
1977 – Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Tony Lo Porto) (Feature Film)
1976 – Baby Blue Marine (Raider) (Feature Film)
1975 – Strike Force (Walter Spenser) (Feature Film)

Source: Biyografiler.com