Gina L. Gershon (born June 10, 1962) is an American film and television actress, known for her roles in the films Cocktail (1988), Showgirls (1995) and Bound (1996).Biography
Personal life
Gershon was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Mickey (née Koppel), an interior decorator, and Stan Gershon, who worked in import/export business and sales. Gershon is Jewish, and French, and has a brother, Daniel, and a sister, Tracy. She attended Beverly Hills High School with Lenny Kravitz. She then went on to attend Emerson College with the likes of comedians Denis Leary and Mario Cantone. Gershon has dated hotel owner Sean McPherson, wealthy entrepreneur Jay Penske, and actors John Cusack and Owen Wilson. A 2008 Vanity Fair article linked her with former President Bill Clinton. Gershon responded with a letter from her lawyers, stating allegations of a relationship were blatantly false and demanding an immediate retraction and threatening legal action.
Career
Gershon is regarded as a gay icon due to her roles in movies such as Bound (in which she played a butch lesbian) and Showgirls (which is regarded as a camp classic). At the same time, her sultry good looks and frequent nude appearances in other films have also gained her a substantial heterosexual male fan base. She was ranked #51 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 Hancock's "Possibilities" CD. On television, she has recurring roles on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (as a Hasidic drycleaner), Rescue Me, and the U.S. dramedy series Ugly Betty (as Italian cosmetics mogul Fabia, the rival of Wilhelmina Slater).
