Gina Gershon was born on June 10, 1962, and raised in Woodland Hills in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles. A mix of Dutch, Russian and French, Gina Gershon is the daughter of Stan, a salesman, and Mickey, an interior decorator. She led a different childhood while growing up in California, and wasn't your typical Valley Girl.
Since her brother and sister are both older than her, Gina Gershon had to entertain herself while growing up, which is why she would create her own world in order to keep busy. When she did hang out with her sister Tracy, her sister would charge people to see a skit they planned, which consisted of Gina Gershon coming out of a closet all dressed up.
Gina Gershon was always passionate about acting, and was always involved in her high school plays while a student at Beverly Hills High School. But she was never your typical Beverly Hills chick. Gina Gershon was a little bit of a juvenile delinquent, but she acted in order to help her stay out of trouble. She was into surfing, playing sports and dancing. She even developed a love for cigars thanks to her dad's cigar-smoking habit.
Once she graduated high school, Gina Gershon headed out to Boston, but then went to San Francisco to study at the American Conservatory Theater. She headed back east to New York City, where she studied drama and child psychology at NYU. She perfected her trade at the Circle in the Square Professional Theater School in New York, and studied with famed teachers David Mamet and Harold Guskin.
Like many actors, Gina Gershon got her start on the stage. One of the founding members of the New York-based theater group, Naked Angels, Gina took her act to the stage in plays like Camille and The Substance of Fire.
She finally got her break when she was cast in a bit part in 1986's Pretty in Pink. Gina Gershon next appeared in Sweet Revenge (1987), Red Heat (1988), where she recalls smoking cigars with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and had a bigger part in Cocktail (1988) as one of Tom Cruise's love interests.
Gina Gershon was also working in TV, with a recurring role on Melrose Place in 1993. She appeared in the films Out for Justice (1991), City of Hope (1991), The Player (1992), and wound up on the cutting room floor of Jungle Fever (1991). In 1992, Gina Gershon received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Nancy Sinatra in the made-for-TV biopic Sinatra.
In 1995, Gina Gershon made heads turn and other body parts stand in her Showgirls role as Vegas strip dancer Cristal Conners. She allegedly refused to reprise Sharon Stone's famous "leg crossing" scene in the film -- perhaps it would have saved the film. Although Showgirls was one of the decade's biggest bombs, Gina Gershon went on without a hitch. Her next role was even more risque; she starred as Corky, an ex-con who gets mixed up in a lesbian affair with Jennifer Tilly in the mobster flick Bound (1996).
In 1997, she costarred with John Travolta and Nicolas Cage in Face/Off. 1998 was busy for Gina Gershon, with roles in Palmetto, I'm Losing You, One Tough Cop, Lulu on the Bridge, and Black & White. While starring in the short-lived TV series Snoops, Gina played an artist in the artsy film Guinevere (1999) and played with big-timer Al Pacino in 1999's The Insider.
Gina Gershon was next seen in the racecar Sylvester Stallone film Driven (2001), followed by Picture Claire (2001), Borderline (2002), Out of Season (2004), and 3-Way (2004).
Her projects in 2005 included One Last Thing, and her 2006 flicks were Man About Town with Ben Affleck and Rebecca Romijn, the comedy Kettle of Fish and Delirious with Elvis Costello.
In 2007, Gina Gershon appeared with Katherine Heigl and Lisa Kudrow in the romantic comedy P.S. I Love You, costarring Gerard Butler and Harry Connick Jr. She also acted on the hit TV shows Ugly Betty, Rescue Me and Curb Your Enthusiam.
In June 2008, after a Vanity Fair article came out implying that Gina Gershon had had an affair with former president Bill Clinton. She completely denied the rumors, saying she'd only him a few times and nothing more.
In 2009, she's scheduled to appear in the dramatic movie Love Ranch.
