Richard Gere was born in 1949 in Philadelphia. He has four siblings and comes from a family of a farmer and an insurance agent. In his youth, he was interested in music and often played together with his siblings, and later he even had his own rock band. When he went to college, he eagerly performed on the student theater stage.
He first appeared on the small screen in the television drama ABC “Chelsea DHO” (1973). Two years later he appeared on the big screen in the crime drama “Report for the Commissioner”
Gere’s first major film role was as Bill in Terrence Malick’s “Days of Heaven.” Brooke Adams played the fiancée of the main character, a Chicago steel mill worker who flees to Texas after a quarrel with his boss.
However, he gained the greatest fame for his role in “Pretty Woman”in which he created an iconic couple with Julia Roberts. Viewers loved Richard and Vivian in the production, which is still considered one of the best romantic comedies in the history of cinema. Interestingly, the actor himself didn’t have much sentiment for this role.
“People keep asking me about ‘Pretty Woman.’ I forgot about it a long time ago. It was a stupid romantic comedy” – he said in an interview for the Australian magazine “Woman’s Day”.
The actor spoke to Page Six about his life before his film career brought him fame and serious money. He confessed that he suffered from hunger at the beginning of his career.
“I ate mostly eggs. Going to a restaurant was something absolutely unattainable then. These were hard, miserable times.“.
The star’s experiences from his youth prompted him to engage in philanthropic activities.. For over 25 years, Gere has supported the American charity organization “Meals on Wheels,” which provides meals to seniors who, for various reasons, are unable to provide their own meals.
When it comes to his private life, Gere has dated many beauties, the list of names is really impressive. The actor has had affairs with Diana Ross, Barbra Streisand, Uma Thurman, Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger, among others. His first wife was model and actress Cindy Crawford.. But this wasn’t Richard Gere’s only wedding – he wasn’t very lucky in love and tried three times.
He and Cindy Crawford married in 1991, but the marriage it only lasted four yearsIn 2002, the actor married for the second time. His chosen one was Carey Lowell, best known for her role as one of James Bond’s girls in “License to Kill.” After fourteen years this relationship also fell apart.
Richard Gere didn’t stay single for long. In 2018, he got married to 33 years younger than Alejandra Silva. They met 20 years earlier when the actor borrowed a boat from her father for one of his films.
Alejandra is an activist working for people in the homeless crisis in Spain. After the wedding, the Hollywood star spoke of his young wife in glowing terms.
“I am the happiest man in the world. How could I not be? I am married to a beautiful woman who is intelligent, sensitive, committed to helping people, and is also funny and patient. She is also a great cook and makes the best salads in the world! Alejandra meditates, is a vegetarian, a wonderful mother” – he said in an interview for “Hello” magazine.
The couple had a great time together two children: the first son was born in 2019, and the second in 2020. Additionally, Gere has a son from his second marriage — now 24 years old, and Alejandra has a son, Albert, with mining tycoon Govind Friedland.