--- description: After a quarter of a century, Pretty Woman is back to charm us with its street smarts once again. To celebrate the film's 25th anniversary,... title: 12 Fascinating Facts on 25th Anniversary of 'Pretty Woman' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4e209c9e2a5bc786/698784e65f570f46e0b15e40/168581071.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 12 Fascinating Facts to Celebrate _Pretty Woman_’s 25th Anniversary by [Kelli Bender / People](/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2015 1:59 AM CUT  Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in a scene from the film Pretty Woman Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in a scene from the film Pretty WomanHulton Archive—Getty Images by [Kelli Bender / People](/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 24, 2015 1:59 AM CUT After a quarter of a century, _Pretty Woman_ is back to charm us with its street smarts once again. To celebrate the film’s 25th anniversary, the original cast reunited on _Today_ to reminisce about the [days of the cassette Walkman](http://www.people.com/article/julia-roberts-richard-gere-pretty-woman-reunion-today "undefined") and filming this Garry Marshall romantic comedy. Looking at the cast, it is hard to believe over two decades have passed since Vivian Ward (played by [Julia Roberts](http://www.people.com/people/julia%5Froberts "undefined")) got swept away by Edward Lewis (portrayed by [Richard Gere](http://www.people.com/people/richard%5Fgere "undefined")), teaching all of us some very valuable [life lessons in the process](http://www.people.com/article/pretty-woman-25th-anniversary-life-lessons "undefined"). The 1990 film is now known as the classic that turned Roberts into an international star, but there’s still some things _Pretty Woman_ fans might’ve missed, even with repeated viewings. Celebrate 25 years of Gere, red dresses and not kissing on the mouth by checking out these surprising behind-the-scenes facts about _Pretty Woman_. 1\. [Molly Ringwald and Michelle Pfeiffer both turned down the role](https://books.google.com/books?id=Y84NBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA55&lpg=PA55&dq=winona+ryder+too+young+for+pretty+woman?&source=bl&ots=yQLrphC89N&sig=086f7X%5FVF0kvq%5FHF-BsuGFsyUSw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=oGIMVdCBL4uYNrzzgLgK&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q=winona%20ryder%20too%20young%20for%20pretty%20woman%3F&f=false "undefined") of Vivian Ward because they were worried about the script’s content. 2\. [Al Pacino and Daniel Day-Lewis were both considered](https://books.google.com/books?id=y-sHBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT26&lpg=PT26&dq=christopher+reeve+pretty+woman&source=bl&ots=yDW6IB1%5Fqk&sig=bnLvxTBfHvXvTaf%5FYMEg4rILpeQ&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wGkMVd2nJMeqgwTugITIBQ&ved=0CDsQ6AEwBjgK#v=onepage&q=christopher%20reeve%20pretty%20woman&f=false "undefined") for the part of Edward Lewis before Gere was chosen. 3\. _Pretty Woman_ features _Simpsons_ actor Hank Azaria in his first film role – he plays a detective. 4\. Roberts spent several days at a Los Angeles free clinic, where Marshall’s wife worked as a nurse, to help prepare for her role. 5\. Hector Elizondo’s hotel manager character was originally supposed to wear a hearing aid as part of the role, but the director ultimately decided against it. 6\. Roberts’s dog was on set the day the first sex scene in the movie was shot and kept interrupting the takes. 7\. While the hotel in the movie is supposed to the be the Beverly Wilshire, _Pretty Woman_ was actually filmed at Los Angeles’ Ambassador Hotel, which was torn down in 2005 to build several schools. 8\. The film was originally called _3000_, in reference to Vivian’s price, but was changed after test audiences said it was confusing. 9\. The famous scene where Gere gives Roberts the diamond necklace was filmed the day after her 21st birthday. 10\. Gere’s box snap wasn’t in the script, it was a prank he and Marshall planned as a surprise for the tired birthday girl. Roberts’s reaction is genuine. 11\. During his fight scene with Jason Alexander, Gere lost a crown on his tooth and finished the scene with the loose crown in his mouth. 12\. The opera the main characters go to see is _La Traviata_, which is about a man falling in love with a prostitute. [_This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.com_](http://www.people.com/article/pretty-woman-25th-anniversary-trivia "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3755555/pretty-woman-25-anniversary-julia-roberts-richard-gere/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3755555/pretty-woman-25-anniversary-julia-roberts-richard-gere/"},"headline":"12 Fascinating Facts to Celebrate Pretty Woman’s 25th Anniversary","datePublished":"2015-03-24T01:59:14.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T05:23:02.908Z","description":"After a quarter of a century, Pretty Woman is back to charm us with its street smarts once again. 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