This celebrates Richard Gere, who was 75 last year. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to parents themselves descendants of the Mayflower originals, was raised as a Methodist in Syracuse, New York. He showed talent early as a musician – being accomplished at piano, guitar and trumpet, he added writing music and played many times in high school productions. He graduated from North Syracuse Central High School 1967 and was awarded a gymnastic scholarship to University of Massachusetts in Amherst, where he majored in philosophy, but left after two years to pursue acting. He joined the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Washington then Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, eventually landing the lead role of Danny Zuko in the London production of Grease 1973. Came to screen notice in Looking for Mr Goodbar 1977, but was still acting onstage too and received a Theatre World award 1980 for a Broadway role in Bent on concentration camp survivors, but in the same year American Gigolo 1980 established him as a major star. He visited Nepal and began a fascination with Tibetans, meeting many monks & lamas, and is now an affirmed Buddhist having studied Zen Buddhism. On screen in An Officer and a Gentleman 1982, he won a Golden Globe nomination. In the early 80s he visited refugee camps in Honduras, Nicaragua & El Salvador. He then teamed with Julia Roberts in the blockbuster Pretty Woman 1990 and won a further Golden Globe nomination. The sequel Runaway Bride 1999 was also hugely successful. Romantically around this time he was linked with Kim Basinger, Priscilla Presley, Barbra Streisand & Tuesday Weld, and he married supermodel Cindy Crawford in 1991 in Las Vegas, divorcing 1995; with her had a mansion in Malibu, apartment in Manhattan and a ranch in Connecticut. He was then with Carey Lowell, with whom he has a son; was co-owner with her of The Bedford Post Inn in Bedford, New York, whilst living in Westchester, New York. As a humanitarian is Founding member of Tibet House dedicated to preservation of Tibetan culture and their human rights, and he has been frozen out of Hollywood because of his political views on China; also supports Survival International which is worldwide supporting tribal peoples espousing self-determination (includes natives of Amazon, Masai of East Africa, Wichi in Argentina, Dayaks in Borneo); also runs The Gere Foundation for humanitarian issues. He learned tap-dancing for Chicago 2002, for which he won a Golden Globe; is also remembered for:- Days of Heaven 1978, The Cotton Club 1984, First Knight 1995 as Lancelot, Red Corner & The Jackal 1997, Shall We Dance? 2004. Was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for playing The Choreographer in And the Band Played On 1994 and for a Golden Globe for Arbitrage 2013. He is a guitar aficionado and collects electric & acoustic guitars; also likes and collects vintage motorcycles. He has a second son with third wife Alejandra Silva – they now live near Madrid, Spain.
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