Gina Gershon Biography

Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American film, television and stage actress, singer and author, known for her roles in the films Cocktail (1988), Showgirls (1995), Bound (1996), Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back (1996), Face/Off (1997), The Insider (1999), Demonlover (2002), Category 7: The End of the World (2005), P.S. I Love You (2007), Five Minarets in New York (2010), and Killer Joe (2011). She has also had supporting roles in FX's Rescue Me and HBO's How to Make It in America.

Early life

Gershon was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mickey (née Koppel), an interior decorator, and Stan Gershon, who worked in the import/export business and sales. Gershon is Jewish, and has an older brother and sister, Dan and Tracy. Gershon was raised in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and attended Beverly Hills High School. She started acting at the age of 14. After high school, Gershon moved to Boston to attend Emerson College. She transferred to New York University, and graduated with a BFA in drama and psychology/philosophy.

Career

Gershon attended the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School in New York, working first with David Mamet and later with Harold Guskin and Sandra Seacat, whom she has described in interviews as "a huge influence." Gershon is one of the founding members of the New York-based theater group Naked Angels.

She has appeared on Broadway three times, 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.

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" alongside Andy Warhol. Her break came with a bit part in 1986's Pretty in Pink which led to more substantial roles in Sweet Revenge with Nancy Allen and Cocktail, with Tom Cruise and Elisabeth Shue. Gershon also worked in television, with a recurring role on Melrose Place playing a Heidi Fleiss-esque Hollywood madame. 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 an affair with Violet (played by 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 because of her roles in movies such as Bound (in which she played a butch lesbian), Prey for Rock & Roll, and Showgirls (in which she played a bisexual, and which is regarded as a camp classic). She was ranked #23 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, in a duo with bassist Christian McBride on the song "Chitlins and Gifltefish", on McBride's 2011 album Conversations with Christian, and on "Maria" from her album In Search of Cleo. 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" which she followed with "Gina Gershon Does Sarah Palin 2".

In 2011, she appeared as a recurring character in the HBO series How to Make It in America.

Gershon's first book written for an adult audience, In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind, is the true story of the hunt for her runaway cat and was released on October 11, 2012.

Personal life

A 2008 Vanity Fair article linked her romantically with former President Bill Clinton. 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. [These rumors] disturbed me on so many levels."

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Beatlemania	Dancer (uncredited)
1985	Girls Just Want to Have Fun	Dancer (uncredited)
1986	3:15	Cobrettes
1986	Pretty in Pink	Trombley, Girl Friend / Gym Class
1987	Sweet Revenge	K.C.
1988	Red Heat	Catherine 'Cat' Manzetti
1988	Cocktail	Coral
1989	Suffering Bastards	Sharnetta
1990	Voodoo Dawn	Tina
1991	Out for Justice	Patti Madano
1991	Jungle Fever	Angie's Neighbor (scenes deleted)
1991	City of Hope	Laurie Rinaldi
1992	'	Whitney Gersh
1993	Joey Breaker	Jenny Chaser
1994	Black and White
1994	Flinch	Daphne James	Video
1995	Best of the Best 3: No Turning Back	Margo Preston
1995	Showgirls	Cristal Connors
1996	Bound	Corky
1997	This World, Then the Fireworks	Carol Lakewood Morton
1997	Touch	Debra Lusanne
1997	Face/Off	Sasha Hassler
1998	Palmetto	Nina
1998	Lulu on the Bridge	Hannah
1998	One Tough Cop	Joey O'Hara
1998	I'm Losing You	Lidia
1998	Prague Duet	Dr. Lauren Graham
1999	Guinevere	Billie
1999	'	Helen Caperelli
2001	Driven	Cathy Heguy
2001	Picture Claire	Lily Warden
2002	Slackers	Girl at Trendy Club (uncredited)
2002	Demonlover	Elaine Si Gibril
2002	Borderline	Dr. Lila Coletti
2003	Prey for Rock & Roll	Jacki
2004	Out of Season	Eileen Phillips
2004	Three Way	Florence DeCroix Hagen
2005	One Last Thing...	Arlene
2006	Dreamland	Mary
2006	Man About Town	Arlene Kreiner
2006	Kettle of Fish	Ginger
2006	Delirious	Dana
2007	What Love Is	Rachel
2007	P.S. I Love You	Sharon
2008	Just Business	Marty Jameson	Video
2008	Beer for My Horses	Cammie
2008	Gina Gershon Strips Down Sarah Palin	Sarah Palin	Video short
2009	'	(uncredited)
2010	Love Ranch	Irene
2010	Five Minarets in New York	Maria
2010	Across the Line: The Exodus of Charlie Wright	Mariel Garza	Video
2011	Sarah Palin Media Addict	Sarah Palin	Short film
2011	Killer Joe	Sharla Smith	Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " International Cinephile Society Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated " Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2011	Breathless	Lorna
2012	LOL	Kathy
2012	Mall	Donna	Filming
2012	'	Mrs. Prentice	Pre-production
2013	Dealin' with Idiots	Sophie
2014	The Scribbler	Cleo	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Stark: Mirror Image	Alison Cromwell	TV movie
1987	'	Laura	Episode: "Time and Teresa Golowitz"
1989	'	Randy Lewis	3 episodes
1989	Monsters	Ann	Episode: "Jar"
1990	Cop Rock	Stacey Kane	Episode: "The Cocaine Mutiny"
1992	Miss Rose White	Angie	TV movie
1992	Sinatra	Nancy Barbato Sinatra	TV miniseries
1993	Love Matters	Heat	TV movie
1993	Melrose Place	Ellen	3 episodes
1994	'	Becky Petrov	Episode: "The Skin Trade"
1997	Ellen	The Cashier (uncredited)	Episode: "The Puppy Episode: Part 2"
1998	Legalese	Angela Beale	TV movie
1999"2000	Snoops	Glenn Hall	13 episodes
2000	Saturday Night Live	Wilma Slotsin (uncredited)	Episode: "Jackie Chan/Kid Rock"
2002	Just Shoot Me!	Rhonda Ferrara	Episode: "Da Sister Who Loved DiMauro"
2003	Just Shoot Me!	Rhonda Ferrara	Episode: "My Fair Finchy"
2003	Spider-Man: The New Animated Series	Shikata (voice)	Episode: "Sword of Shikata" Episode: "Keeping Secrets"
2004	'	Glenn Hall	Episode: "The Firm"
2004	Tripping the Rift	Six	13 episodes
2004	Kevin Hill	Carly Austin	Episode: "The Good Life"
2004	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Anna	Episode: "The Survivor"
2004"2007	'	Catwoman / Selina Kyle (voice)	5 episodes
2005	'	Bebe Knight	Episode: "Pilot"
2005	Crossing Jordan	Charlie Davis	Episode: "Embraceable You"
2005	Family Guy	Policewoman (voice)	Episode: "Blind Ambition"
2005	Category 7: The End of the World	FEMA Director Judith Carr	TV movie
2005	American Dad!	Karen / Various (voice)	Episode: "Homeland Insecurity" Episode: "Stan of Arabia: Part 2"
2006	Ugly Betty	Fabia	Episode: "Pilot"
2007	Ugly Betty	Fabia	Episode: "I'm Coming Out" Episode: "East Side Story"
2007	Psych	Emilina Saffron	Episode: "American Duos"
2007	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Anna	Episode: "The Anonymous Donor"
2007"2009	Rescue Me	Valerie	9 episodes
2009	Life on Mars	Rita	Episode: "Coffee, Tea, or Annie"
2009	Numb3rs	Danielle Hill	Episode: "12:01 AM"
2009	Eastbound & Down	Realtor	Episode: "Chapter 5"
2009	Everything She Ever Wanted	Pat Allanson	TV miniseries
2010	Glory Daze	Lt. Lang	Episode: "What's Love Got to Nude with It"
2011	How to Make It in America	Nancy Frankenburg	7 episodes
2013	Maron	Alexa	Episode: "A Real Woman"

Theatre

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Cabaret	Sally Bowles
2008	Boeing Boeing	Gabriella
2009	Bye Bye Birdie	Rose Alvarez

Music

Year	Title	Notes
2007	In Search of Cleo