Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an
American film and television
actress, known for her roles in the films
Cocktail (1988),
Showgirls (1995),
Bound (1996), and
Face/Off (1997).
Personal life
Gershon was born in
Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Mickey (
née Koppel), an interior decorator, and Stan Gershon, who worked in the import/export business and sales.
[Cigar Aficionado|People Profile|Gina Gershon][Gina Gershon Biography (1962-)] Gershon is
Jewish,
and has a brother, Dan, and a sister, Tracy. She attended
Beverly Hills High School with
Lenny Kravitz.
[Cracking Up Lenny Kravitz|Lenny Kravitz|Music News|Music|Entertainment Weekly] After high school, Gershon moved to Boston, where she attended
Emerson College.
A 2008
Vanity Fair article linked her romantically with former President
Bill Clinton.
[The Los Angeles Times. Vanity Fair links Bill Clinton to actress Gina Gershon] Speaking on the U.S. television show
Live with Regis and Kelly on June 9, she said, "It is such a crazy, outrageous lie… I met him three times at events. It disturbed me on so many levels. I felt I had to stand up and say the truth."
[This URL is blacklisted for some reason: www.postchronicle dot com/news/original/article_212151922.shtml ]
Career
Gershon moved to New York City from Boston to attend
New York University, where she studied drama and child psychology. She also attended the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School in New York, working with
David Mamet and
Harold Guskin. She is one of the founding members of the New York-based theater group
Naked Angels.
[NetGlimse Gina Gershon biography]
She has thrice appeared on Broadway, as Sally Bowles in the revival of
Cabaret, in the revival of the sex farce
Boeing-Boeing, and is currently playing Rosie Alvarez in the Broadway revival of
Bye Bye Birdie at the
Roundabout Theatre Company [www.broadway.com/shows/bye-bye-birdie/].
Her first acting venues were stage appearances in
Camille and
The Substance of Fire. She had a cameo role in
The Cars 1984 video
Hello Again along side
Andy Warhol. Her break came with a bit part in 1986's
Pretty in Pink, and then a bigger part in
Cocktail, with
Tom Cruise. Gershon also worked in TV, with a recurring role on
Melrose Place. She won critical acclaim for her portrayal of
Nancy Sinatra in the made-for-TV biopic
Sinatra. In 1996, she played Corky, an ex-con who gets mixed up in a lesbian affair with
Jennifer Tilly, in the mobster flick
Bound. The following year, she costarred with
John Travolta and
Nicolas Cage in
Face/Off.
Gershon is regarded as a gay icon[http://www.afterellen.com/TV/totallygay.html Afterellen.com Retrieved on 04-19-07 ] because of her roles in movies such as Bound (in which she played a butch lesbian), Prey for Rock & Roll, and Showgirls (which is regarded as a camp classic). She was ranked #51 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2004.
Gershon played Jew's harp on "I Can't Decide", a song on the Scissor Sisters 2006 release Ta-Dah. She also played Jew's harp on the song "I Do It For Your Love", Paul Simon's collaboration with Herbie Hancock on his album Possibilities. On television, she has recurring roles on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (as a Hasidic dry cleaner), Rescue Me, and the U.S. dramedy series Ugly Betty (as Italian cosmetics mogul Fabia, the rival of Wilhelmina Slater). She also has served as the voiceover for Major League Baseball's "I Live For This" promotional campaign.
Gershon also appears in Lenny Kravitz's Music Video entitled "Again."
She and her brother Dann are the authors of the children's book Camp Creepy Time.
On September 10, 2008, Gershon appeared in a video on funnyordie.com, parodying former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, titled "Gina Gershon Strips Down Sarah Palin"["Gina Gershon Strips Down Sarah Palin"] which she followed with "Gina Gershon Does Sarah Palin 2".["Gina Gershon Does Sarah Palin 2"]
Filmography
Movies
