Born 1968 (age 57) · Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Appears in 71 titles

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.

Filmography

Garfield
5.7
Garfield
2004
as Arlene (voice)
Searching
7.6
Searching
2018
as Detective Vick
Along Came Polly
6.0
Along Came Polly
2004
as Lisa Kramer
Open Season
6.2
Open Season
2006
as Beth (voice)
The Wedding Date
6.8
The Wedding Date
2005
as Kat Ellis
The Mothman Prophecies
6.2
The Mothman Prophecies
2002
as Mary Klein
A Walk in the Clouds
7.4
A Walk in the Clouds
1995
as Betty Sutton
Bros
6.7
Bros
2022
as Debra Messing
Hollywood Ending
6.5
Hollywood Ending
2002
as Lori
Celebrity
6.0
Celebrity
1998
as TV Reporter
Irresistible
6.0
Irresistible
2020
as Babs Garnett (uncredited)
Dirty Dancing
5.5
Dirty Dancing
2017
as Marjorie Houseman
The Alto Knights
6.2
The Alto Knights
2025
as Bobbie Costello
The Women
5.1
The Women
2008
as Edie Cohen
Lucky You
5.7
Lucky You
2007
as Suzanne Offer
Like Sunday, Like Rain
7.3
Like Sunday, Like Rain
2014
as Barbara
Albion: The Enchanted Stallion
5.7
Albion: The Enchanted Stallion
2016
as The Queen
Jesus
6.8
Jesus
1999
as Mary Magdalene
McHale's Navy
4.5
McHale's Navy
1997
as Lt. Penelope Carpenter
Nothing Like the Holidays
6.3
Nothing Like the Holidays
2008
as Sarah Rodriguez