Debra Messing

About Debra Messing

Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress. Her professional journey began after her education at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Early in her television career, she appeared in the brief series Ned and Stacey on Fox from 1995 to 1997, followed by Prey on ABC in 1998. Messing's defining role arrived as Grace Adler, an interior designer, in the iconic NBC sitcom Will & Grace. This beloved series aired from 1998 to 2006 and later returned for a revival from 2017 to 2020. Her portrayal earned her significant accolades, including seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, ultimately securing one Emmy win in 2003.

Beyond Will & Grace, Messing took on the role of Molly Kagan, the former wife of a Hollywood executive, in the 2007-2008 miniseries The Starter Wife. This performance garnered her two Golden Globe nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. She then portrayed Broadway playwright Julia Houston in the NBC musical drama Smash, which ran from 2012 to 2013. Following that, she took on the part of homicide detective Laura Diamond in the NBC police procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura from 2014 to 2016. During the 2017 to 2020 run of the Will & Grace revival, she reprised her acclaimed role as Grace Adler, earning a ninth Golden Globe nomination for her work.

Messing's cinematic contributions include roles in 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). Her voice can also be heard in animated features such as Garfield (2004) and Open Season (2006).

Politically, Messing is a supporter of the Democratic Party. Her engagement in political activism began in 2004 with door-to-door campaigning and phone banking. In 2018, she co-founded I am a voter. with Mandana Dayani, a nonpartisan initiative dedicated to educating and motivating voters. Leading up to the Georgia runoff election in 2021, Messing used Instagram to direct her followers to VoteRiders for information on voter ID requirements and assistance. In October 2023, following the outbreak of the