Richard Gere Biography

- Middle name is Tiffany.

- Sometimes credited as Richado Gia.

- 5' 10½" (1.79 m) Irish-American.

- Is a vegetarian and has been a Buddhist for over a decade.

- Was a member of the student council, gymnastics, lacrosse and ski teams.

- Joined a rock ‘n’ roll community in Vermont in 1970, after dropping out of University, where he tried unsuccessfully to start up a rock band.

- Listed as one of twelve “Promising New Actors of 1977” in John Willis’ Screen World, Vol. 29 [1977]

- Cindy Crawford told Gere on 12 December 1991 that he had to marry her or she’d leave him. Later that same day, they flew on a Disney jet, arranged by Jerry Lazenberg, to Las Vegas to be married.

- Once banned from the Oscars, after making anti-China statements at the 1993 ceremony.

- The first man to appear on the cover of Vogue magazine. To date, the only other man to enjoy this privilege is George Clooney.

- Turned down the lead role in Die Hard, which went to Bruce Willis.

- In the three films that made him a star, “Days of Heaven” (1978), “American Gigolo” (1980), and “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982), his role had been turned down by John Travolta.

- He trained for five months for the tap dance sequence in “Chicago” (2002).

- Posed for photos for Robert Mapplethorpe.