Debbie Reynolds
Born April 01, 1932 (Age: 94)
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El Paso, Texas, USA
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.
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.
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Filmography
Behind the Candelabra
2013
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as Frances
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Age: 81
In the Picture
2012
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as Aunt Lilith
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Age: 80
One for the Money
2012
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as Grandma Mazur
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Age: 79
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 72
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
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as Self
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Age: 72
Connie and Carla
2004
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as Herself
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Age: 72
What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain'
2002
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as Self
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Age: 70
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002
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as Self
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Age: 70
Cinerama Adventure
2002
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as Self
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Age: 70
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
2000
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as Lulu Pickles (voice)
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Age: 68
Virtual Mom
2000
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as Gwen
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Age: 67
The Christmas Wish
1998
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as Ruth
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Age: 66
Halloweentown
1998
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as Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
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Age: 66
Zack and Reba
1998
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as Beulah Blanton
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Age: 66
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
1998
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as Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice)
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Age: 66
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1998
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as Debbie Reynolds (voice)
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Age: 66
In & Out
1997
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as Berniece Brackett
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Age: 65
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
1997
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as Self
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Age: 64
Mother
1996
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as Beatrice Henderson
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Age: 64
Wedding Bell Blues
1996
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as Debbie Reynolds
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Age: 64
That's Entertainment! III
1994
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as Self - Co-Host / Narrator
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Age: 62
Heaven & Earth
1993
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as Eugenia
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Age: 61
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
1993
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as Self
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Age: 61
The Bodyguard
1992
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as Debbie Reynolds
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Age: 60
Battling for Baby
1992
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as Helen
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Age: 59
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
1989
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as Amanda Cody
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Age: 57
Sadie and Son
1987
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as Sadie
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Age: 55
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
1987
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as Self
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Age: 55
The Best of Broadway
1985
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as Herself
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Age: 53
That's Dancing!
1985
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as
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Age: 52
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 49
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
1981
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as Alice
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Age: 48
Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace!
1978
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as Herself
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Age: 46
The People's Command Performance: '77
1977
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as Self
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Age: 45
That's Entertainment, Part II
1976
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as (archive footage)
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Age: 44
That's Entertainment!
1974
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as Self - Host / Narrator
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Age: 42
Charlotte's Web
1973
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as Charlotte (voice)
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Age: 40
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 39
Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children
1969
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as Self
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Age: 37
Goodbye Charlie
1964
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as Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason
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Age: 32
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
1964
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as Molly Brown
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Age: 32
The Story of a Dress
1964
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as Self
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Age: 31
Mary, Mary
1963
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as Mary McKellaway
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Age: 31
My Six Loves
1963
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as Janice Courtney
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Age: 31
How the West Was Won
1962
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as Lilith Prescott
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Age: 30
The Second Time Around
1961
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as Lu Rogers
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Age: 29
The Pleasure of His Company
1961
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as Jessica Poole
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Age: 29
Pepe
1960
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as Debbie Reynolds
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Age: 28
The Rat Race
1960
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as Peggy Brown
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Age: 28
The Gazebo
1960
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as Nell Nash
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Age: 27
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960
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as Self
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Age: 27
It Started with a Kiss
1959
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as Maggie Putnam
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Age: 27
Say One for Me
1959
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as Holly LeMaise
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Age: 27
The Mating Game
1959
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as Mariette Larkin
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Age: 27
This Happy Feeling
1958
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as Janet Blake
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Age: 26
Bundle of Joy
1956
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as Polly Parish
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Age: 24
The Catered Affair
1956
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as Jane Hurley
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Age: 24
Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956
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as Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
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Age: 23
The Tender Trap
1955
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as Julie Gillis
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Age: 23
Hit the Deck
1955
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as Carol Pace
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Age: 22
Athena
1954
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as Minerva Mulvain
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Age: 22
A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954
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as Self
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Age: 22
Susan Slept Here
1954
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as Susan Beaurgard Landis
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Age: 22
Give a Girl a Break
1953
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as Suzy Doolittle
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Age: 21
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
1953
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as Pansy Hammer
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Age: 21
I Love Melvin
1953
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as Judy Schneider / Judy LeRoy
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Age: 20
Two Weeks with Love
1950
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as Melba Robinson
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Age: 18
Three Little Words
1950
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as Helen Kane
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Age: 18
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
1950
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as Maureen O'Grady
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Age: 18