Gina Gershon
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Gina Gershon is something of a mystery. If her quote about the characters she plays is accurate – “All my roles are different parts of my personality” – then are we any closer to pinpointing that personality after seeing her as, say, Cat Manzetti in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Red Heat,” Patti Madano in Steven Seagal’s “Out for Justice,” Cristal in “Showgirls,” or Catwoman on the animated “The Batman”? To take it further, Gina’s profession is not only that of an actress – she can also claim herself to be a producer, an author and even a musician. And add the adjective “single” before it all and you have Gina Gershon. Case closed.
Not quite. Though born into a Jewish family of French, Russian and Dutch background in Los Angeles in 1962, it didn’t take long for Gina to experience different parts of the country – experiences that along with her family roots would no doubt shape the actress she would become. Following graduation from Beverly Hills High in the Class of 1980, Gina packed up and headed for Boston to live, love and study at Emerson College. Life in New England proved short-lived, though, as Gina decided New York would better suit her and her passion: theater. She obtained a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and hung around in New York forming a theater group with college friends called the Naked Angels. By age 24, she was in “Pretty in Pink” and soon after making out with Tom Cruise in “Cocktail.”
Dabbling between theater, film and television, Gina landed the coveted gig of playing Sally Bowles on Broadway in “Cabaret” under the direction of Sam Mendes. Utilizing her singing and dancing talents she first learned as a valley girl, Gina participated in the film “Prey for Rock & Roll” in 2003 which revived Gina’s interest as a musician. Touring with the band Girls Against Boys, Gina wrote her own songs and played guitar – the experience is chronicled in “Rocked,” a documentary originally aired on IFC. Her album, “In Search of Cleo” was released in the fall of 2007.
When not appearing as a frequent guest star on “Rescue Me,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” or “Ugly Betty,” as well as her numerous movie roles, Gina found time to pen a book with older brother Dann entitled “Camp Creepy Time,” a young adult book following the misadventures of a 13-year-old boy named Einstein P. Fleet. “If you only read one book in your life, you’re stupid. But if you’re not stupid, read ‘Camp Creepy Time,’” proclaimed Chris Rock. On the acting end, Gina’s recent appearances on TV and the indie scene is a mainstay. She has proven her versatility, and just as other middle-aged beauties like Teri Hatcher continue to impress, Gina Gershon seems to be a model for self-identity and uniqueness, even if we’ll never completely understand her.
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Gina on the Web
IMDb
Ultimate resource site for Gina and her work.
The DL Show Interview
YouTube clip from The DL’s page featuring Gina at Sundance 2007.
Prey for Rock & Roll Interview
Video interview with Gina on her “Prey for Rock & Roll.”
Gina on the Screen
Gina’s first credited screen appearance was in “Pretty in Pink” as a high school girl. She’s K.C. in “Sweet Revenge,” Tina in “Voodoo Dawn,” Whitney Gersh in Robert Altman’s “The Player,” Nancy Sinatra in the TV movie “Sinatra,” Corky the lesbian in “Bound,” Nina in “Palmetto,” and Joey O’Hara in the Stephen Baldwin crime picture “One Tough Cop.” She was on TV for 13 episodes of “Snoops,” “Tripping the Rift,” and lately “Ugly Betty,” “Rescue Me” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Gina also is in the Stallone racing flick “Driven,” as well as plenty of indie flicks such as “Delirious” and “What Love Is.”
Gina has published her book with brother Dann called “Camp Creepy Time.” She also starred opposite Lisa Kudrow, Kathy Bates and Harry Connick, Jr. in the Hilary Swank vehicle “P.S. I Love You.”
Gina Says
On bottles:
“You break up with your boyfriend, you get a bottle of peroxide. You get sad, you have a drink. Need to sleep? Get a bottle of pills. Baby needs to be calmed down? Give it a bottle. There are genies in bottles.”
On her characters:
“All my roles are different parts of my personality.”
On being straight:
“I’m not a lesbian, but my girlfriend is.”
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