Debbie Reynolds
Acting
Biography
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 - December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portrayal of Helen Kane in the 1950 film Three Little Words, and her breakout role was her first leading role, as Kathy Selden in Singin' in the Rain (1952). Other successes include The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953), Susan Slept Here (1954), Bundle of Joy (1956 Golden Globe nomination), The Catered Affair (1956 National Board of Review Best Supporting Actress Winner), and Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), in which her performance of the song "Tammy" reached number one on the Billboard music charts. In 1959, she released her first pop music album, titled Debbie. She starred in How the West Was Won (1963), and The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a biographical film about the famously boisterous Molly Brown. Her performance as Brown earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other films include The Singing Nun (1966), Divorce American Style (1967), What's the Matter with Helen? (1971), Charlotte's Web (1973), Mother (1996) (Golden Globe nomination), and In & Out (1997). Reynolds was also a cabaret performer. In 1979 she founded the Debbie Reynolds Dance Studio in North Hollywood, which still operates today. In 1969 she starred on television in the eponymous The Debbie Reynolds Show, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In 1973 Reynolds starred in a Broadway revival of the musical Irene and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her performance in A Gift of Love (1999) and an Emmy Award for playing Grace's mother Bobbi on Will & Grace. At the turn of the millennium, Reynolds reached a new younger generation with her role as Aggie Cromwell in Disney's Halloweentown series. In 1988 she released her autobiography titled, Debbie: My Life. In 2013, she released a second autobiography, Unsinkable: A Memoir. Reynolds also had several business ventures, including ownership of a dance studio and a Las Vegas hotel and casino, and she was an avid collector of film memorabilia, beginning with items purchased at the landmark 1970 MGM auction. She served as president of The Thalians, an organization dedicated to mental health causes. Reynolds continued to perform successfully on stage, television, and film into her eighties. In January 2015, Reynolds received the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. In 2016 she received the Academy Awards Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. In the same year, a documentary about her life was released titled Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds; the film premiered on HBO on January 7, 2017. On December 28, 2016, Reynolds was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following a medical emergency, which her son Todd Fisher later described as a "severe stroke". She died that afternoon, one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher.
Born: April 1, 1932
Place of Birth: El Paso, Texas, USA
Known For
Filmography
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Grandmommers Whimsical (voice)
as Self
as Frances
as Aunt Lilith
as Grandma Mazur
as Self - Guest Judge
as Granny Squirrel (voice)
as Self
as Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
as Self - Guest
as Self - Guest
as Self (archive footage)
as Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
as Herself
as Self
as Herself
as Lulu Pickles (voice)
as Self
as Nana Possible (voice)
as Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
as Self (archive footage)
as Piper Grayson
as Lulu Pickles (voice)
as Gwen
as Mrs. Wilson (voice)
as Ruth
as Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
as Beulah Blanton
as Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice)
as Bobbi Adler
as Self - Panelist
as Debbie Reynolds (voice)
as Berniece Brackett
as Beatrice Henderson
as Debbie Reynolds
as Self
as Betty Poplovich
as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
as Eugenia
as Self
as Debbie Reynolds
as Helen
as Lulu Pickles (voice)
as Deedee Chappel
as Amanda Cody
as Sadie
as Truby
as Herself
as Alice Farrell
as Self
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Self
as Self (archive footage)
as Self
as Sydney Chase
as Herself
as Sheila Evans
as Doris Talbert
as (archive footage)
as Self
as Self - Host / Narrator
as Charlotte (voice)
as Self (archive footage)
as Adelle Bruckner
as Self
as Jenny
as Self - Guest
as Self
as Self - Guest / Various Characters
as Barbara Harmon
as Sister Ann
as Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason
as Molly Brown
as Self
as Mary McKellaway
as Janice Courtney
as Lilith Prescott
as Self - Guest Host
as Self
as Lu Rogers
as Self
as Self
as Jessica Poole
as Debbie Reynolds
as Peggy Brown
as Nell Nash
as Self
as Maggie Putnam
as Holly LeMaise
as Mariette Larkin
as Janet Blake
as Self
as Tammy Tyree
as Polly Parish
as Self - Recipient
as Jane Hurley
as Self - Nominee
as Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
as Julie Gillis
as Carol Pace
as Minerva Mulvain
as Susan Beaurgard Landis
as Suzy Doolittle
as Pansy Hammer
as Judy Schneider / Judy LeRoy
as Self
as Self
as Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
as Kathy Selden
as Narrator (uncredited)
as Gwen
as Melba Robinson
as Self
as Helen Kane
as Maureen O'Grady
as Self
as Self - Mystery Guest
as Boo's Girlfriend at Wedding
as Self
as Self - Presenter
as Self - Hostess