Kevin Franklin Gaede, who later changed his name to Kevin Gage, was born and raised in northern Wisconsin. He was physically active, working on his grandparents' dairy farm and excelling in school sports, including basketball, baseball, football, hockey, and track. He also enjoyed fishing and other outdoor activities.

After graduating high school, Kevin headed to Florida to see the ocean. After a few months he turned his sights on California, planning to find work in construction, and landed in Hollywood. There Kevin worked for a security company, drove delivery trucks, and (still only 18 years old) went to bartending school and became a bartender. The job paid well. Life was good.

When Kevin was 21, tending bar at a local steakhouse, he was approached by a theatrical agent, who had him read for a part and then recommended that he take an acting class. He became a regular in local plays and within a few years he was picking up small roles in films and television, including Highway to Heaven, Steele Justice, and High Mountain Rangers.

It was in acting class that he started seeing Kelly Preston. After a couple of years of dating, they were married in Hawaii in 1985. Kevin's first movie part was in Space Camp, where Preston had a leading role. Unfortunately his lines ended up on the cutting room floor. Two years later, the marriage fell apart and they went their separate ways. Kevin continued to find small acting roles, and in 1989 he appeared opposite Tom Hanks, Bruce Dern and Brother Theodore in The 'Burbs.

Kevin's first big role, and still one of his most memorable, was as "Waingro" in Heat, released in 1995. Competition for the role was tough, requiring twelve meetings over two months with casting director Bonnie Timmerman and director Michael Mann. Kevin was elated to be chosen, saying that he had dreamed for 13 years of being able to work with talent of Robert DeNiro's caliber.

His performance in Heat resulted in many offers, and Kevin continued to work in more A-list films, TV episodes, and lower budget films. He played opposite leading actors including Demi Moore and Viggo Mortensen in G.I. Jane, Nicholas Cage in Con Air and Johnny Depp in Blow.

Kevin's career was temporarily derailed in 2002 after he and two partners set up a licensed business to grow and distribute medicinal marijuana. Though legal in California and encouraged by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (who declared SF to be a medicinal marijuana-friendly city), the Federal government disagreed and arrested them. After serving two years of his 41-month sentence in a minimal security facility, Kevin was released early for good behavior in September 2005.

Kevin married Perris Knight on a Santa Barbara beach in the spring of 2006, and their son Ryder Jay Gage was born in January 2007. Sadly, Perris was diagnosed in late 2008 with inoperable brain cancer. Kevin's focus became caring for her and Ryder, with help from her parents. Perris passed away in July 2014.

As of 2020, Kevin lives with his teenage son in southern California and continues to complete several acting projects each year.