Debra Messing

Messing was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Sandra (née Simons), 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. Their Jewish ancestors came from Russia and Poland. Messing had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony. When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, Rhode Island. While Messing's 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, where, at her parents' request, three-quarters of her courses were not theater-related. In 1990, after graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts, Messing gained admission to the elite Grad Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, which accepts 16 new students annually. She earned a Master of Fine Arts after three years.In 1993, Messing 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 (Keanu Reeves). This exposure led Fox 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 romantic interest 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 Theatre Club. She also co-starred in the Tom Arnold vehicle McHale's Navy in 1997. In 1998, Messing 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 received critical acclaim for her performance. Director Woody Allen cast Messing in a supporting 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 (2002) and a supporting role as an unfaithful bride 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. Also in 2005, along with Megan Mullally, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television. She also 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, Messing 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. The show was later renewed for a second season after which it was cancelled. Messing appeared with Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong and Leighton Meester in Frank Whaley's drama film Like Sunday, Like Rain in 2014. For her performance, Messing won the 2014 Best Actress Award at The Williamsburg Independent Film Festival. She made her Broadway debut in John Patrick Shanley's play Outside Mullingar alongside Tony Award winner Brían 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. Messing 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.