Known For
Acting
Born
Apr 01, 1932
Died
Dec 28, 2016
Place of Birth
El Paso, Texas, USA
Credits
166 titles
Debbie Reynolds
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.
Known For
Filmography
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
Self (archive footage)
Commitment to Life
Self (archive footage)
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Self
Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God?
Self (archive footage)
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
Self
The Slippers
Tab Hunter Confidential
Self
The 7D
Grandmommers Whimsical (voice)
Committed
Self
Behind the Candelabra
Frances
In the Picture
Aunt Lilith
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
One for the Money
Grandma Mazur
The Talk
Self
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's
Self
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
Self
RuPaul's Drag Race
Self - Guest Judge
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self
The Penguins of Madagascar
Granny Squirrel (voice)
The Brothers Warner
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
Self
The Jill & Tony Curtis Story
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Self
Return to Halloweentown
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
Self (archive footage)
Halloweentown High
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
Self
Connie and Carla
Herself
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales
Herself
Rugrats: Babies in Toyland
Lulu Pickles (voice)
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Self
What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain'
Self
Cinerama Adventure
Self
Kim Possible
Nana Possible (voice)
First Monday
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
These Old Broads
Piper Grayson
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Lulu Pickles (voice)
Virtual Mom
Gwen
A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story
Shirlee Allison
Keepers of the Frame
Herself
Family Guy
Mrs. Wilson (voice)
The Christmas Wish
Ruth
Halloweentown
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Zack and Reba
Beulah Blanton
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice)
Will & Grace
Bobbi Adler