AceShowbiz - Gina Gershon's role in the 1995 film Showgirls has become iconic, not only for the movie’s cult status but also for the intense and chaotic experience of making it. In her new memoir, AlphaPussy, the actress reveals numerous untold stories from the set, explaining why the film holds a special place in her career and personal growth.

Though Gina Gershon has worked on many projects, she writes about Showgirls more than any other film because the challenges and events during production best illustrate her evolution as what she calls an “AlphaPussy.” She even jokes that she could have written an entire book just on the making of the movie, as several chapters in her memoir focus on it.

One surprising fact Gina Gershon shares is that the legendary musician Prince was initially expected to score the soundtrack for Showgirls. However, his music was largely replaced by Dave Stewart from the Eurythmics. Still, Gina Gershon recalls a memorable experience from nearly a decade earlier when Prince flew her to Minnesota to audition for a role in Purple Rain. After reviewing the script, she declined the opportunity because she was uncertain about a sex scene included in the role.

When preparing to portray Cristal Connors, the character at the center of Showgirls, Gina Gershon admits she lied about her age to producers. At 33 during filming, she claimed to be 34 or 35, believing Cristal needed to be near 40 to convincingly feel threatened by the ambitious newcomer Nomi. To embody this, she stuffed her bra for a fuller look, applied heavy makeup to appear older, and altered her voice and speech cadence to sound like a jaded Southerner, despite being a California native.

The dedication to the role extended to the audition process, where Gina Gershon pushed herself physically to the point of injury. She tore her hamstring while dancing, which led her to leave the room and cry in her car. This vulnerable moment created an instant bond with co-star Elizabeth Berkley, who noticed and comforted her.

After securing the role, Gina Gershon immersed herself in the world of showgirls by visiting strip clubs to better understand their lives. She humorously notes that turning in her late-night receipts from these clubs to her business manager as tax write-offs gave her a unique satisfaction.

While reflecting on the film, Gina Gershon reveals her biggest issue with watching Showgirls today is the inconsistent accent she used for Cristal. She intended to exaggerate a Texas accent in public scenes but speak normally in private moments. However, director Paul Verhoeven insisted she not use an accent at all. To work around this, she lied that she was from Tennessee and continued to perform the accent, even though she was born and raised in California.

An unexpected connection on set was with makeup artist David Forrest, who once performed as the cowboy in the Village People. Gina Gershon recalls him sharing this tidbit at 4 a.m. while applying rhinestones to her nipples for one of the film’s more provocative scenes.

The relationship between Gina Gershon and director Paul Verhoeven was notoriously tense. Their clashes escalated to the point where Gina Gershon threw a heavy makeup chair at him during an argument in her trailer. She describes the chair as “fancy” and “heavy,” but her throw barely moved it a few inches, landing with a “pathetic thud.”

The chair incident was not an isolated conflict. Gina Gershon also attempted to persuade Verhoeven to cut certain infamous lines, such as Cristal telling Nomi that she loves eating dog food, which she found to be “the dumbest conversation ever between two sober characters.” However, Verhoeven refused to remove the dialogue, and the scene remains in the final film.

In addition to the physical demands, Gina Gershon’s time filming Showgirls was emotionally charged. The struggles with her accent, the difficult director, and the challenging material all combined to create a memorable but exhausting experience. Despite this, her stories reveal a resilient and determined actress who committed fully to her role and the unique, wild world of Showgirls.

These candid revelations from Gina Gershon offer fans a rare glimpse behind the curtain of one of cinema's most talked-about cult classics, highlighting the grit and humor that defined the film’s creation.