She entered into a high-profile marriage with one of the world’s biggest film stars when she was only 22.
And now Cindy Crawford is looking back on her whirlwind relationship and marriage to Richard Gere.
The 57-year-old fashion icon recalled how she changed herself and her interests to align with Gere’s when she began dating the Pretty Woman star in 1988 while reminiscing for her new Apple TV+ series The Supermodels, which also features interviews with fellow catwalk stars Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington.
In the documentary series, she recalled how she adopted some of Gere’s interests in Buddhism as she tried to ‘mold’ herself to better fit with him.
She was 17 years the junior of Gere, now 74, and the couple quietly eloped in 1991 after dating since 1988.
Cindy Crawford looks back on her early marriage to Richard Gere and how she changed herself to fit in with the acclaimed actor in her new Apple TV+ series The Supermodels; seen in 1989
Whirlwind romance: Crawford, 57, eloped with Gere, 74, in 1991 after they met three years earlier
According to Crawford, she hadn’t yet developed enough of her own interests during her early marriage, so she absorbed many of Gere’s.
‘In the beginning of a relationship, when you’re a young woman, you’re like: “You like baseball? I like baseball,”‘ she said.
‘”You’re really into Tibetan Buddhism? I might be into that. I’ll try that.”‘
Crawford was referring to Gere’s well-known interest and devotion to Buddhism in her comments.
In his 20s he became fascinated with Zen Buddhism, a more minimalist, meditation-focused version of the popular religion that originated in China and spread throughout Asia before becoming popular in Japan.
But in the late 1970s he visited Nepal and met many practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism, which puts a much greater focus on rituals. Gere followed that trip up with a meeting with the 14th Dalai Lama in India, where he lives after being exiled from Tibet.
‘You’re willing to kind of mold yourself around whoever you are in love with,’ Crawford continued.
Although the brunette beauty appeared to regret taking such a passive role in her marriage, which ended in divorce in 1995, she also described a widening of her horizons thanks to the social circles that Gere floated in.
‘He was older, so I just was like in a different circle and not doing some of those same fashiony things anymore,’ she said.
Although Crawford scaled back her modeling work during her relationship with Gere, she also expanded her profile with more film and television work during and immediately after her marriage.
In 1989, a year after she met the Chicago actor, she became the inaugural host of MTV’s House Of Style, and during that period she appeared in George Michael’s iconic Freedom! 90 music video — along with all of her Supermodels costars — and she played Jon Bon Jovi’s girlfriend in his video for Please Come Home For Christmas.
Transformer: ‘In the beginning of a relationship, when you’re a young woman, you’re like: “You like baseball? I like baseball. You’re really into Tibetan Buddhism? I might be into that. I’ll try that,”‘ she said, referencing Gere’s well-known religion; seen in 1994
Stunner: Crawford modeled less and began acting more during her time with Gere, but she made a splash at the 1991 Oscars with her plunging red Versace dress
In 1995, she had her first lead role in a feature film opposite Billy Baldwin in Fair Game, which was a critical and commercial failure.
Even though Crawford was modeling less while married to Gere, here connection to the American Gigolo star helped reinvigorate Hollywood culture.
She made a splash at the 63rd Academy Awards ceremony in 1991, shortly before she and the actor eloped, when she matched the red carpet with a plunging scarlet Versace dress that left little to the imagination.
She was even featured at the ceremony when she presented the award for Best Set Design with Susan Sarandon.
Crawford’s dress was a sensation, and it upped the importance of fashion at the Oscars.
Although several stars had previously worn eye-catching haute couture to the ceremony, the Oscars were not yet the fashion showcase that they would become in subsequent years.
‘If I’m going to go to the Oscars, I better be a freaking supermodel,’ she recalled thinking at the time. ‘When I showed up in that red dress, I think it was a little like: “Wow, fashion is back at the Oscars.”‘
In the interview, Crawford was most focused on how her relatively young age affected her ability to ‘change in a relationship’ while with Gere.
‘I just think your twenties for women is such a time where you’re starting to come into your own and feel your own power and connect to your inner strength,’ she shared.
‘And it’s hard to change in a relationship because what one person might have signed up for and then all of a sudden you’re not that anymore,’ she continued, hinting at the end of the marriage. ‘I think I was more willing at 22 to be like: “OK, I’ll follow,” and then you start going: “Well, I don’t want to just follow. I want to lead sometimes and I want to walk side by side sometimes.”‘
Standing out: ‘If I’m going to go to the Oscars, I better be a freaking supermodel,’ she recalled thinking at the time. ‘When I showed up in that red dress, I think it was a little like: “Wow, fashion is back at the Oscars”‘
Making a change: ‘I just think your twenties for women is such a time where you’re starting to come into your own and feel your own power and connect to your inner strength,’ she shared; seen in the 1990s in Paris
Crawford would go on to create a lasting marriage with Rande Gerber in 1998, and they share two model children: their daughter Kaia Gerber, 22, and son Presley Gerber, 24.
Gere would go on to have other marriages as well.
He’s second union was with former Law & Order actress Carey Lowell, whom he was married to from 2002 to 2016.
Then, in 2018, he married the Spanish publicist and activist Alejandra Silva, who is 34 years his junior.
