Debra Messing Biography
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress. She received short-lived roles on television series such as Ned and Stacey on Fox (1995–1997) and Prey on ABC (1998). She achieved her breakthrough role as Grace Adler, an interior designer, on the NBC Sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she was critically acclaimed, receiving seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning once in 2003.
How old is Debra Messing? – Age
The American actress is 52 years old as of 15th August 2020. She was born in 1968 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.
Who are Debra Messing Parents? – Father and Mother
The American actress is the daughter of Sandra, who worked as a professional singer, banker, and travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a costume jewelry packaging manufacturer. She is Jewish, and had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony; her Jewish ancestors emigrated from Poland and Russia. When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
Who is Debra Messing Married to? – Spouse
The actress was a married lady. She lately dated dated her Smash co-star Will Chase from the end of 2011 to October 2014. Messing was married to Daniel Zelman, an actor and screenwriter, on their first day as graduate students at New York University in 1990. They were married on September 3, 2000, and lived in Manhattan.
On April 7, 2004, Messing gave birth to their son, Roman Zelman. In December 2011, she and her husband separated after 11 years of marriage. The actress filed for divorce on June 5, 2012. The divorce was officially completed on March 1, 2016.
Debra Messing Acting Career
The actress started acting and singing in a number of high school productions at East Greenwich High School, including the starring roles in the musicals Annie and Grease. She took lessons in dance, singing and acting. In 1993, She won acclaim for her performance as Harper 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. She appeared as Jerry Seinfeld’s romantic interest in two episodes of the series Seinfeld: ”The Wait Out” in 1996 and “The Yada Yada” in 1997. She also co-starred in the Tom Arnold vehicle McHale’s Navy in 1997.
In 1998, the actress played a lead role as the bioanthropologist 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 Nicollette Sheridan, who later guest-starred on the show as Grace’s romantic rival. Will & Grace became a ratings success, and Messing became a star.
In 2002, she was named one of the “50 Most Beautiful People in the World” by People. TV Guide picked her as its “Best Dressed Woman” in 2003. And Messing’s trademark curls on Will & Grace won her five Crown Awards from voters at the celebrity hair site Super-Hair. Net between 2000 and 2008.
Director Woody Allen cast Messing in a small role in his film Hollywood Ending (2002). Her film roles since include Richard Gere’s ill-fated wife in the supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies and a supporting role as an unfaithful bride in Along Came Polly (2004).
The actress starred in the television miniseries The Starter Wife (2007), 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, consisting of 10 episodes. In early 2010, Messing starred in the ABC comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong for the 2010–2011 primetime season, but ABC did not pick-up the pilot.
In July 2011, the actress was ranked no. 22 on the TV Guide Network special, Funniest Women on TV. In February 2011, producers announced that Messing would star in a new NBC musical pilot called Smash for the 2011–2012 primetime season. In May 2011, it was reported that NBC picked up the show as a series for the 2011–2012 season. The show premiered on February 6, 2012. She made her Broadway debut in John Patrick Shanley’s play Outside Mullingar alongside Tony Award winner Brian F. O’Byrne, which began previews at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 3, 2014. Outside Mullingar was nominated for Best Play for the 2014 (68th Annual) Tony Awards.
Messing starred in The Mysteries of Laura, a police procedural television show that premiered in September 2014. The series lasted for two seasons and ended in 2016. She portrayed Marjorie Houseman in the television remake of the film, Dirty Dancing (1987). It aired on ABC in May 2017.
She starred again as Grace Adler in the revival of Will & Grace on NBC. The revival aired for three seasons, from September 2017 to April 2020.
Debra Messing Net worth
The American actress has an estimated net worth of around $25 million as of 2021.