Gina Gershon life and biography

Gina Gershon is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail (1988), Showgirls (1995), Bound (1996), Face/Off (1997), The Insider (1999), Demonlover (2002), Category 7: The End of the World (2005), P.S. I Love You (2007) and Five Minarets in New York (2010).

Gershon was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mickey, an interior decorator, and Stan Gershon, who worked in the import/export business and sales. Gershon is Jewish, and has a brother, Dan, and a sister, Tracy. She attended Beverly Hills High School with Lenny Kravitz. After high school, Gershon moved to Boston, where she attended Emerson College.

Her big screen breakthrough came with a part in the 1986 "Brat Pack" teenage hit Pretty in Pink (1986). She also had parts in the Tom Cruise vehicle Cocktail (1988) and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Red Heat (1988). Of this period, she says, "One of my first gigs, a movie called Cocktail (1988), I found myself at 8 in the morning, in bed, practically naked, having to make out with Tom Cruise; hmmmm... movie business - so far, so good".

Citing Frank Sinatra's song "My Way" as an inspiration, she says that following Cocktail (1988), "I was fortunate enough to play many diversified roles in film, television and stage. Not always to the liking of my managers and agents, but I always did what I wanted...." She played Nancy Sinatra, Frank's first wife, in the TV miniseries Sinatra (1992) (TV).

Gina Gershon became a celebrity in Showgirls (1995). The following year, Gershon solidified her claim on second-tier stardom playing the calculating lesbian "Corky" in the crime movie Bound (1995). She never did capitalize on her mid-1990s breakthrough, but Gershon is established as a character actress and is never out of work, unlike most of her female peers who started out in the industry at the same time. Though no classic beauty, the talented thespian remains gainfully employed while many actresses of her vintage are out of work as she is possessed of a unique look and smoldering sex appeal that comes across on camera.

Gershon is versatile, too, as at home on stage as she is in front of the camera. After appearing in off-Broadway and regional theater productions, she made her Broadway debut as a replacement in Sam Mendes' revival of Cabaret (1972) in January 2001. For six months, she played the key role of "Sally Bowles", returning that October to reprise the role for another month. In 2008, she once again appeared on Broadway in the revival of the farce "Boeing Boeing" on Broadway, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival.

Gina Gershon also is a children's book writer. In 2008, Putmam Juvenile published her "Camp Creepy Time", a tale of a boy who discovers aliens at his summer camp, which she co-wrote with her brother, Dann Gershon. "Camp Creepy Time" recently was optioned by DreamWorks, which plans to turn it into a movie. In 2008, she also released a CD featuring nine songs which she wrote or co-wrote, "In Search Of Cleo".

Filmography:

Delirious (2007)
P.S. I Love You (2007)
Beer for My Horses (2008)
Just Business (2008)
Love Ranch (2009)
Five Minarets in New York (Turkish: New York'ta Bes Minare) (2010)

Television:

Eastbound & Down (2009)-(Season 1, Episode 5 "Chapter 5")
Everything She Ever Wanted (2009)- Lifetime Movie Network miniseries
Life (2009)
Glory Daze (2010)

Broadway:

Cabaret (1998 revival)
Boeing Boeing (2008 revival)
Bye Bye Birdie (2009 revival)

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