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Richard Gere, Humanitarian
HOLLYWOOD - Actor/activist Richard Gere can add another award to his list of props. The veteran screen star received a humanitarian award on Sunday for his work on freeing Tibetans from Chinese rule.
Gere was among five recipients to be honored with the Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Medal, The Associated Press reports.
"I feel very strongly here how her spirit ripples through us without even having seen her with our own eyes," Gere, a Buddhist, said at the Roosevelt's Hudson Valley Cottage during the award ceremony Sunday in Hyde Park, N.Y.
Also honored were Brazil's first lady, Ruth Cardoso; opera singer and activist Jessye Norman; and educator Emilie B. Dyson and her husband, Robert R. Dyson.
Gere's films include "An Officer and a Gentleman," "Pretty Woman" and "American Gigolo." He's currently starring in "Dr. T and the Women."