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.
Filmography
all 163
Movies 108
self 78
TV Shows 55
Voice 7
Narrator 1
Commitment to Life (2023)
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age (2021)
Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God? (2021)
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2017)
The Slippers (2016)
Tab Hunter Confidential (2015)
The 7D (2014)
Committed (2014)
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
Behind the Candelabra (2013)
In the Picture (2012)
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom (2012)
One for the Money (2012)
Carrie Fisher: Wishful Drinking (2010)
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story (2009)
RuPaul's Drag Race (2009)
House of Harrington (2009)
The Penguins of Madagascar (2008)
Frank in the Fifties (2008)
The Brothers Warner (2008)
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History (2008)
The Jill & Tony Curtis Story (2008)
Secret Talents of the Stars (2008)
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
Return to Halloweentown (2006)
The One Show (2006)
The Reichen Show (2005)
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon' (2005)
Halloweentown High (2004)
Connie and Carla (2004)
The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003)
Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales (2003)
Rugrats: Babies in Toyland (2002)
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer (2002)
What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain' (2002)
Cinerama Adventure (2002)
Kim Possible (2002)
First Monday (2002)
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood (2001)
These Old Broads (2001)
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000)
Virtual Mom (2000)
A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (1999)
Keepers of the Frame (1999)
Family Guy (1999)
The Christmas Wish (1998)
Halloweentown (1998)
Zack and Reba (1998)
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1998)
Will & Grace (1998)
Hollywood Squares (1998)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
In & Out (1997)
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years (1997)
Mother (1996)
Wedding Bell Blues (1996)
That's Entertainment! III (1994)
Heaven & Earth (1993)
Intimate Portrait (1993)
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul (1993)
The Bodyguard (1992)
Battling for Baby (1992)
Rugrats (1991)
Wings (1990)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder (1989)
Roseanne (1988)
Sidewalks Entertainment (1988)
Couples Do It Debbie's Way (1988)
Sadie and Son (1987)
The Golden Girls (1985)
The Best of Broadway (1985)
That's Dancing! (1985)
Jennifer Slept Here (1983)
Do It Debbie's Way (1983)
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage (1983)
Madame's Place (1982)
Hotel (1982)
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! (1982)
Battlestars (1981)
Entertainment Tonight (1981)
Aloha Paradise (1981)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1981)
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters (1980)
Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace! (1978)
The Love Boat (1977)
The People's Command Performance: '77 (1977)
Alice (1976)
That's Entertainment, Part II (1976)
The Sonny & Cher Show (1976)
Dinah! (1974)
That's Entertainment! (1974)
Charlotte's Web (1973)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory (1972)
What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
Great Performances (1971)
The Pearl Bailey Show (1971)
Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children (1969)
Bracken's World (1969)
The Debbie Reynolds Show (1969)
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (1969)
How Sweet It Is! (1968)
The Dick Cavett Show (1968)
The Carol Burnett Show (1967)
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
Divorce American Style (1967)
The Singing Nun (1966)
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
The Story of a Dress (1964)
Mary, Mary (1963)
My Six Loves (1963)
The Andy Williams Christmas Show (1962)
How the West Was Won (1962)
The Merv Griffin Show (1962)
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962)
The Second Time Around (1961)
The DuPont Show of the Week (1961)
The Pleasure of His Company (1961)
Pepe (1960)
The Rat Race (1960)
The Gazebo (1960)
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood (1960)
Startime (1959)
It Started with a Kiss (1959)
Say One for Me (1959)
The Mating Game (1959)
Kraft Music Hall (1958)
This Happy Feeling (1958)
American Bandstand (1957)
Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
Bundle of Joy (1956)
The Steve Allen Show (1956)
The Catered Affair (1956)
Tony Awards (1956)
Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956)
The Tender Trap (1955)
Ford Star Jubilee (1955)
MGM Parade (1955)
Hit the Deck (1955)
Athena (1954)
The George Gobel Show (1954)
A Star Is Born World Premiere (1954)
Susan Slept Here (1954)
Give a Girl a Break (1953)
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953)
I Love Melvin (1953)
The Oscars (1953)
This Is Your Life (1952)
Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Challenge the Wilderness (1951)
Mr. Imperium (1951)
Two Weeks with Love (1950)
The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950)
Three Little Words (1950)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
The Bob Hope Show (1950)
What's My Line? (1950)
June Bride (1948)
The Ed Sullivan Show (1948)
The Wacky World Of Jonathan Winters
Generation Gap
Ratings
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Information
Known ForActing
GenderFemale
Birthday1932-04-01
Deathday2016-12-28 (84 years old)
Birth NameMary Frances Reynolds
Birth PlaceEl Paso, United States of America
ReligionChurch of the Nazarene
Height1.57-meter
RelationshipsEddie Fisher (1955-01-01 - 1959-01-01), Richard Hamlett (1984-01-01 - 1996-01-01), Harry Karl (1960-01-01 - 1973-01-01)
ChildrenTodd Fisher, Carrie Fisher
FatherRaymond Reynolds
MotherMaxine Reynolds
RelativesBillie Lourd
CitizenshipsUnited States of America
Also Known AsДебби Рейнольдс, Mary Frances Reynolds
Awardsstar on Hollywood Walk of Fame, Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress, Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
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