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Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15,
1968) is an American actress, best known for her role as Grace Adler in
the sitcom Will & Grace.
Messing was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the daughter of
Sandra (née Simons), who has worked as a professional singer, banker,
travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a
costume jewelry packaging manufacturer. Messing is Jewish, a descendant of
immigrants from Russia and Poland. When Messing was three, she moved with
her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, a small town
outside Providence, Rhode Island.
During her high school years, she acted and sang in a number of high
school productions at East Greenwich High School, including the starring
roles in the musicals Annie and Grease. It was at this school where she
first met Eddie Depastina, a computer teacher who continued to support her
throughout her high school years. She took lessons in dance, singing, and
acting. In 1986, she was Rhode Island's Junior Miss and competed in
Mobile, Alabama in the America's Junior Miss scholarship program. While
her parents encouraged her dream of becoming an actress, they also urged
her to complete a liberal arts education before deciding on acting as a
career. Following their advice, she attended Brandeis University in
Waltham, Massachusetts. During her junior year, she studied theater at the
prestigious London-based British European Studio Group program, an
experience that solidified her desire to act. Some time after 1986 she
underwent surgical rhinoplasty.
In 1990, after graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a
bachelor's degree in theater arts, Messing gained admission to the elite
Graduate Acting Program at New York University which accepts approximately
fifteen new students annually. She earned a Master's Degree in Fine Arts
after three years.
In 1993, Messing won praise for her acting in the pre-Broadway workshop
production of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America: Perestroika.
Subsequently, she appeared in several episodes of the television series
NYPD Blue during 1994 and 1995.
In 1995, Messing made her film debut in Alfonso Arau's A Walk in the
Clouds playing the unfaithful wife of main character Paul Sutton (Keanu
Reeves). This exposure led the Fox network to make her the co-star of the
television sitcom, Ned & Stacey. The series lasted for two seasons, from
1995 to 1997. Messing appeared as Jerry Seinfeld's date in two episodes of
the series Seinfeld: "The Wait Out" in 1996 and "The Yada Yada" in 1997.
Messing turned down a starring role in another television sitcom to appear
in Donald Margulies's two-character play Collected Stories, which opened
at the Off-Broadway Manhattan Theater Club. She also co-starred in
McHale's Navy in 1997.
In 1998, Messing played a lead role as the bio-anthropologist Sloan Parker
on ABC's dramatic science fiction television series Prey. During this time
her agent approached her with the pilot script for the television show
Will & Grace. Messing was inclined to take some time off, but the script
intrigued her, and she auditioned for the role of Grace Adler, beating out
Nicollette Sheridan, who later guest-starred on the show as a romantic
rival of Grace's. Will & Grace became a ratings success, and Messing
gained renown.
In 2002, she was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World"
by People Magazine. TV Guide picked her as its "Best Dressed Woman" in
2003. Messing was cast by director Woody Allen in a small role in his 2002
film Hollywood Ending. Her film roles since include a happily married but
ill-fated wife in the supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies (2002)
and a supporting role in Along Came Polly (2004). The Wedding Date (2005)
was Messing's first leading role in a high-profile film. It received mixed
reviews but performed fairly well at the box office. Messing was featured
as a judge on the season finale of the second season of Bravo's reality
show, Project Runway. She also starred in the television mini-series The
Starter Wife, which was nominated for ten Emmy awards including one for
Messing for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie.
In 2008, Messing reprised her role as Molly Kagan in the television series
The Starter Wife, which included 10 episodes. In early 2009, Messing's
untitled comedy series was picked up by NBC for the 2009-10 primetime
season.
Messing met her husband, Daniel Zelman, an actor and screenwriter, on
their first day as graduate students at NYU in 1990. They were married on
September 3, 2000, and live in New York City. On April 7, 2004, Messing
gave birth to their son, Roman Walker Zelman. |
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"The Starter Wife" .... Molly
Kagan (10 episodes, 2008)
- Woman Over the Influence (2008) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Her Old Man & The Sea (2008) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Look Who's Stalking (2008) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- The French Disconnection (2008) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- The Ex-Files (2008) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
(5 more)
Nothing Like the Holidays (2008) .... Sarah Rodriguez
The Women (2008/I) .... Edie Cohen
"The Starter Wife" .... Molly Kagan (5 episodes, 2007)
- Hour 6 (2007) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Hour 5 (2007) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Hour 4 (2007) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Hour 3 (2007) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
- Hour 1 (2007) TV episode .... Molly Kagan
Lucky You (2007) .... Suzanne Offer
Purple Violets (2007) .... Kate Scott
Open Season (2006) (voice) .... Beth
"Will & Grace" .... Grace Adler (187 episodes, 1998-2006)
- The Finale (2006) TV episode .... Grace Adler
- Whatever Happened to Baby Gin? (2006) TV episode .... Grace Adler
- Partners 'n' Crime (2006) TV episode .... Grace Adler
- The Mourning Son (2006) TV episode .... Grace Adler
- Blanket Apology (2006) TV episode .... Grace Adler
(182 more)
Will & Grace: Say Goodnight Gracie (2006) (TV) .... Grace Adler
The Wedding Date (2005) .... Kat Ellis
Garfield (2004) (voice) .... Arlene
... aka Garfield: The Movie (USA: promotional title)
Along Came Polly (2004) .... Lisa Kramer
"King of the Hill" .... Mrs. Hilgren-Bronson (1 episode, 2002)
- Get Your Freak Off (2002) TV episode (voice) .... Mrs.
Hilgren-Bronson
Hollywood Ending (2002) .... Lori
The Mothman Prophecies (2002) .... Mary Klein
Jesus (1999) (TV) .... Mary Magdalene
... aka Die Bibel - Jesus (Germany)
... aka La bibbia: Jesus (Italy)
"Ned and Stacey" .... Stacey Colbert (47 episodes, 1995-1999)
- Skippy's Revenge (1999) TV episode .... Stacey Colbert
- I Like Your Moxie (1999) TV episode .... Stacey Colbert
- No Retreat, No Surrender (1997) TV episode .... Stacey Colbert
- Where My Third Nepal Is Sheriff (1997) TV episode .... Stacey
Colbert
- Saved by the Belvedere (1997) TV episode .... Stacey Colbert
(42 more)
Celebrity (1998) .... TV Reporter at Lupus Office
"Prey" .... Dr. Sloan Parker (13 episodes, 1998)
- Deliverance: Part 1 (1998) TV episode .... Dr. Sloan Parker
- Progeny (1998) TV episode .... Dr. Sloan Parker
- Vengeance (1998) TV episode .... Dr. Sloan Parker
- Sleeper (1998) TV episode .... Dr. Sloan Parker
- Collaboration (1998) TV episode .... Dr. Sloan Parker
(8 more)
"Seinfeld" .... Beth (2 episodes, 1996-1997)
- The Yada Yada (1997) TV episode .... Beth
- The Wait Out (1996) TV episode .... Beth
McHale's Navy (1997) .... Lt. Penelope Carpenter
"Partners" .... Stacey (1 episode, 1995)
- City Hall (1995) TV episode .... Stacey
A Walk in the Clouds (1995) .... Betty Sutton
... aka Caminando por las nubes (Mexico)
... aka Un paseo por las nubes (Mexico)
"NYPD Blue" .... Dana Abandando (3 episodes, 1994-1995)
- Bombs Away (1995) TV episode .... Dana Abandando
- A Murder with Teeth in It (1995) TV episode .... Dana Abandando
- Double Abandando (1994) TV episode .... Dana Abandando |
