Richard Gere Through the Years: From ‘American Gigolo’ to ‘Pretty Woman’ and Beyond
usmagazine.comA rom-com icon! Richard Gere’s career skyrocketed in the ’80s with his breakout role in American Gigolo and he has since become a critically acclaimed actor over five decades.The actor was born in 1949 in Philadelphia, but was raised mainly in Syracuse, New York.
After dropping out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Gere went on to land his first major acting role in the original London stage version of Grease in 1973.After transitioning to film in the mid-70s, the Unfaithful actor had his breakout role in 1980’s American Gigolo.
Two years later, he starred in An Officer and A Gentleman, which went on to win two Academy Awards.“Like a lot of things, it was timing,” Gere told Interview magazine in 2012 when asked why he thought An Officer and A Gentleman had so much success. “[My 1979 film] Yanks was a very good picture in the realm of An Officer and a Gentleman.
But the timing was wrong; the studio didn’t believe in it – it was dumped by the studio. Paramount happened to believe in An Officer and A Gentleman and pushed it.
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