Debra Messing
Biography
Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the shortlived television series, 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 received seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning once, in 2003. From 2007 to 2008, Messing starred as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, on the television miniseries The Starter Wife, for which she received two Golden Globe nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Thereafter, she appeared as Broadway playwright Julia Houston on the NBC musical drama Smash (2012–2013) and as homicide detective Laura Diamond on the NBC police-procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura (2014–2016). From 2017 to 2020, Messing reprised her role as Grace Adler on NBC's three season revival of Will & Grace, garnering a ninth Golden Globe nomination for her performance. Messing's film work includes A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Jesus (1999), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Hollywood Ending (2002), Along Came Polly (2004), The Wedding Date (2005), Lucky You (2007), The Women (2008), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008), Searching (2018), and 13: The Musical (2022). She has also lent her voice to animated films such as Garfield (2004) and Open Season (2006). Description above from the Wikipedia article Debra Messing, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Also Known As
Movie Appearances

Jesus
as Mary Magdalene
1999

Lucky You
as Suzanne Offer
2007

The Mothman Prophecies
as Mary Klein
2002

Purple Violets
as Kate Scott
2007

Along Came Polly
as Lisa Kramer
2004

Open Season
as Beth (voice)
2006

The Wedding Date
as Kat Ellis
2005

Nothing Like the Holidays
as Sarah Rodriguez
2008

A Walk in the Clouds
as Betty Sutton
1995

Hollywood Ending
as Lori
2002

The Women
as Edie Cohen
2008

McHale's Navy
as Lt. Penelope Carpenter
1997

Like Sunday, Like Rain
as Barbara
2014

13: The Musical
as Jessica Goldman
2022

Bros
as Debra Messing
2022

NBC 75th Anniversary Special
as Self
2002

The Alto Knights
as Bobbie Costello
2025

Celebrity
as TV Reporter
1998

Must See TV: An All Star Tribute to James Burrows
as Self
2016

Dirty Dancing
as Marjorie Houseman
2017
TV Appearances

Inside the Actors Studio
as Self
1994

Seinfeld
as Beth Lukner
1989

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
as Self
2003

Today
as Self
1952

King of the Hill
as Mrs. Hilgren-Bronson (voice)
1997

The View
as Self
1997

Tamron Hall
as Self - Guest
2019

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Alicia Harding
1999

Ned & Stacey
as Stacey Colbert
1995

Prey
as Dr. Sloan Parker
1998

The Starter Wife
as Molly Kagan
2007
