Richard Gere facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Richard Gere
Gere at the 2024 Venice Film Festival
Born	(1949-08-31) August 31, 1949 (age 75) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1969–present
Spouse(s)	Cindy Crawford ​ ​ (m. 1991; div. 1995)​ Carey Lowell ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2016)​ Alejandra Silva ​ ​ (m. 2018)​
Children	4

Richard Tiffany Gere (born August 31, 1949) is a famous American actor. He started acting in movies in the 1970s. Some of his early films include Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977) and Days of Heaven (1978).

..... This movie made him a popular leading actor. He has been in many other successful films like An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Pretty Woman (1990), and Runaway Bride (1999). He won a Golden Globe Award for his role as Billy Flynn in the musical movie Chicago (2002).

Early Life and School

Richard Gere was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 31, 1949. He was the second of five children. His father worked as an insurance agent, and his mother was a homemaker. Richard grew up in Syracuse, New York.

When he was in high school, Richard Gere was very good at gymnastics and music. He also played the trumpet. He graduated from North Syracuse Central High School in 1967. After high school, he went to the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship. He studied philosophy there but left after two years to pursue acting.

Acting Career

Richard Gere (right) with Lobsang Nyandak at a Tibet Fund event in 2016.

Richard Gere started his acting career in theater in 1969. He performed in plays in Seattle and on Cape Cod. His first big role on Broadway was in the musical Soon in 1971. Later, he appeared in the London version of Grease in 1973. He also played a challenging role in the Broadway play Bent in 1979.

Gere began acting in Hollywood movies in the mid-1970s. He had a small but important part in Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Then he starred in the drama Days of Heaven (1978). .....

The romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) made him even more famous. This movie earned a lot of money and won two Academy Awards. Richard Gere received his first Golden Globe Award nomination for his role in it.

In the 1990s, Richard Gere starred in many successful films. These include Internal Affairs (1990) and the very popular Pretty Woman (1990). He also appeared in Sommersby (1993) with Jodie Foster. Other notable films from this time are Primal Fear (1996) and Runaway Bride (1999), where he reunited with his Pretty Woman co-star Julia Roberts.

In 2002, Richard Gere starred in three hit movies: The Mothman Prophecies, Unfaithful, and the musical Chicago. He won his first Golden Globe Award for his performance in Chicago. His dancing movie Shall We Dance? (2004) also did very well.

Richard Gere has taken on different kinds of roles. For example, he played a journalist in The Hunting Party (2007). He also played a version of Bob Dylan in I'm Not There (2007). In 2012, he received great reviews for his role as a businessman in Arbitrage. He also played a unique character in the political drama Norman (2016).

Richard Gere is known for putting a lot of effort into his roles. He composed and played the piano theme for Pretty Woman. He also played a guitar solo in Runaway Bride. For Chicago, he learned tap dancing for three months. He even studied karate for An Officer and a Gentleman. Many film critics say he is one of the best actors who has never been nominated for an Academy Award.

Activism and Views

Richard Gere visiting an AIDS awareness project in Mumbai.

Richard Gere is well-known for his work as an activist. He often visits Dharamshala, India, which is the home of the Tibetan government-in-exile. He strongly supports human rights in Tibet. He helped start the Tibet House US and the Gere Foundation. He is also the Chairman of the Board for the International Campaign for Tibet.

Because of his support for the Tibetan Independence Movement, Richard Gere is not allowed to enter China. He has said that his political views have made it harder for him to get roles in big Hollywood movies. This is because China is a very important film market. In 1993, he was even banned from presenting an Academy Award after speaking out against the Chinese government.

Richard Gere also supports other important causes. He campaigns for environmental protection and for people to be aware of AIDS. He helped create the AIDS Care Home in India, which is a place for women and children with AIDS. He also supports education about AIDS in India.

In 2007, Richard Gere attended an AIDS awareness event in India. ..... This caused some controversy, and a local court ordered their arrest. However, India's highest court later said the case was "frivolous" and that such complaints were often made for "cheap publicity." They ruled that Gere was free to enter the country.

He also contributed writing to a book called We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples. This book highlights the struggles of tribal communities around the world. The money from the book's sales goes to Survival International, an organization that protects the rights of indigenous people.

In 2010, Richard Gere shared his thoughts on the war in Iraq. He said that the American people did not support the war. He also called George W. Bush a "very poor president." He expressed sadness about the war's impact on Iraq.

In 2016, he supported Hillary Clinton for president. In 2017, he spoke out against Benjamin Netanyahu's policies regarding Palestinians and Israeli settlements. He called the settlements "an absurd provocation" and "completely illegal." In 2023, he signed a statement supporting protesters in Iran.

Personal Life

Richard Gere with his third wife Alejandra Silva in 2024.

Richard Gere has been married three times. He was married to model Cindy Crawford from 1991 to 1995. In 2002, he married model and actress Carey Lowell. They have a son named Homer James Jigme Gere, who was born in February 2000. They separated in 2013 and finalized their divorce in 2016.

In April 2018, Richard Gere married Spanish activist Alejandra Silva. They announced they were expecting their first child together in August 2018, and their son was born in February 2019. In April 2020, they welcomed their second son.

Richard Gere became interested in Buddhism when he was in his 20s. He studied Zen Buddhism for several years. In 1978, he traveled to Nepal and met many Tibetan monks. He later met the 14th Dalai Lama in India. Since then, he has been a practicing Tibetan Buddhist and a strong supporter of the Dalai Lama.

In February 2023, Richard Gere was diagnosed with pneumonia while on vacation in Mexico. His wife reported that he fully recovered from his illness.

Film and TV Roles

Richard Gere has starred in many movies and television shows. Here are some of them:

Movies

Television Shows

Awards and Recognitions

Richard Gere has received several awards and honors for his acting and his humanitarian work.

In 1995, he was the head of the jury at the 19th Moscow International Film Festival.

In 2012, the President of Albania gave him the Medal of Gratitude. This was to thank him for speaking out about human rights issues in Kosovo in 1999. Also in 2012, the George Eastman Museum honored him for his important contributions to film.

See also

In Spanish: Richard Gere para niños