Debra Messing

Debra Messing Movies and TV Shows

​Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968)  best known for her role as Grace Adler in the sitcom Will & Grace. Messing was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, the daughter of Sandra (née Simons), who has worked as a professional singer, banker, travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a costume jewelry packaging manufacturer. Messing is Jewish, a descendant of immigrants from Russia and Poland. When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, a small town outside Providence, Rhode Island. During her high school years, she acted and sang 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 1986, she was Rhode Island's Junior Miss and competed in Mobile, Alabama in the America's Junior Miss scholarship program. While her 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 in Waltham, Massachusetts. During her junior year, she studied theater at the prestigious London-based British European Studio Group program, an experience that solidified her desire to act. In 1990, after graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis University with a bachelor's degree in theater arts, Messing gained admission to the elite Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts which accepts approximately fifteen new students annually. She earned a Master's Degree in Fine Arts after three years. In 1993, Messing won praise for her acting 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 the Fox network 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 date 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 Theater Club. She also co-starred in the Tom Arnold vehicle McHale's Navy in 1997. In 1998, Messing played a lead role as the bio-anthropologist 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 out Nicollette Sheridan, who later guest-starred on the show as a romantic rival of Grace's. 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 Magazine. TV Guide picked her as its "Best Dressed Woman" in 2003. Messing was cast by director Woody Allen in a small role in his 2002 film Hollywood Ending. Her film roles since include a happily married but ill-fated wife in the supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies (2002) and a supporting role 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. She also starred in the television mini-series The Starter Wife, 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, which included 10 episodes. In early 2010, Messing will star in the new ABC comedy series Wright vs. Wrong for the 2010-2011 primetime season.

Personal info

  • Gender: Female
  • Date of birth: 8/15/1968 (56 years old)
  • Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York, USA
  • nationality: American
  • height: 1.73 m
  • Net worth: $25,000,000
  • twitter: debramessing
  • instagram: therealdebramessing
Year
Genre
IMDB
TMDB
Available on the following streaming services in the United States
Bros
IMDB 6.4
TMDB 72%
role:
Debra Messing
2022

Comedy

Romance

6.4
72%
13: The Musical
IMDB 5.2
TMDB 69%
role:
Jessica Goldman
2022

Comedy

Drama

Family

5.2
69%
Irresistible
IMDB 6.3
TMDB 61%
role:
Babs Garnett (uncredited)
2020

Comedy

Drama

6.3
61%
The Dark Divide
IMDB 6.3
TMDB 60%
role:
Thea Pyle
2020

Adventure

Comedy

Drama

6.3
60%
Stucco
IMDB 5.7
TMDB 53%
role:
Counselor
Not available
2019

Horror

5.7
53%
Not available
Searching
IMDB 7.6
TMDB 76%
role:
Detective Vick
2018

Drama

Mystery

Thriller

7.6
76%
Will & Grace
TMDB 77%
role:
Grace Adler
2017

Comedy

77%
Dirty Dancing
IMDB 3.2
TMDB 55%
role:
Marjorie Houseman
2017

Drama

Romance

3.2
55%
2016

Adventure

Comedy

Family

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

5.2
59%
The Mysteries of Laura
IMDB 6.8
TMDB 71%
role:
Detective Laura Diamond
2014

Mystery

6.8
71%
2014

Drama

Music

6.9
75%
Smash
IMDB 7.7
TMDB 70%
role:
Julia Houston
2012

Drama

7.7
70%
Nothing Like the Holidays
IMDB 6.1
TMDB 62%
role:
Sarah Rodriguez
2008

Comedy

Drama

Romance

6.1
62%
The Women
IMDB 5.0
TMDB 51%
role:
Edie Cohen
2008

Comedy

Drama

Family

Romance

5.0
51%
Open Season
IMDB 6.1
TMDB 61%
role:
Beth (voice)
2006

Adventure

Animation

Comedy

Family

6.1
61%
The Wedding Date
IMDB 6.1
TMDB 68%
role:
Kat Ellis
2005

Comedy

Romance

6.1
68%
Garfield
IMDB 5.1
TMDB 57%
role:
Arlene (voice)
2004

Animation

Comedy

Family

5.1
57%
Along Came Polly
IMDB 6.0
TMDB 60%
role:
Lisa Kramer
2004

Comedy

Romance

6.0
60%
Everwood
IMDB 7.5
TMDB 78%
role:
Suzanne Offer
2002

Drama

7.5
78%
2002

Comedy

Drama

6.5
66%
2002

Drama

Horror

Mystery

6.4
62%
Will & Grace
IMDB 7.4
TMDB 70%
role:
Grace Adler
1998

Comedy

7.4
70%
Celebrity
IMDB 6.3
TMDB 60%
role:
TV Reporter
1998

Comedy

Drama

6.3
60%
McHale's Navy
IMDB 4.5
TMDB 44%
role:
Lt. Penelope Carpenter
1997

Comedy

4.5
44%
The Starter Wife
IMDB 7.0
TMDB 66%
role:
Molly Kagan
1996

Comedy

Drama

7.0
66%
A Walk in the Clouds
IMDB 6.7
TMDB 72%
role:
Betty Sutton
1995

Drama

Romance

6.7
72%

FAQs

Some movies or TV shows available in the United States starring or involving Debra Messing are, for example, Bros, 13: The Musical and Irresistible.
The streaming services with the largest selection are Prime Video, Amazon and iTunes.
The best StreamFat ratings are Everwood (7.7), Will & Grace (7.7) and Searching (7.6).