
Debra Messing
Department: Acting
Biography
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.
Known For

Jesus
1999

Lucky You
2007

The Mothman Prophecies
2002

Purple Violets
2007

Along Came Polly
2004

Open Season
2006

The Wedding Date
2005

Nothing Like the Holidays
2008

A Walk in the Clouds
1995

Hollywood Ending
2002

The Women
2008

McHale's Navy
1997

Like Sunday, Like Rain
2014

13: The Musical
2022

Bros
2022

NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002

The Alto Knights
2025

Celebrity
1998

Must See TV: An All Star Tribute to James Burrows
2016

Dirty Dancing
2017

Albion: The Enchanted Stallion
2016

Searching
2018

Garfield
2004

Wright vs. Wrong
2010

Stucco
2019

The Dark Divide
2020

Bombshell in Concert
2020

Irresistible
2020

The Paley Center Salutes Law & Order: SVU
2020

October 8
2025

The War of the Worlds 2021
2021

Sesame Street: Wild Words and Outdoor Adventures
2011

Inside the Actors Studio
1994

Seinfeld
1989

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003

Today
1952

King of the Hill
1997

The View
1997

Tamron Hall
2019

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999

Ned & Stacey
1995

Prey
1998

The Starter Wife
2007

Will & Grace
1998

Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993

Partners
1995

Smash
2012

The Mysteries of Laura
2014

Billy on the Street
2011

Project Runway
2004

Project Runway
2004

Will & Grace
2017

The $100,000 Pyramid
2016

LIVE with Kelly and Mark
1988

The Graham Norton Show
2007

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014

Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
2015

Match Game
2016

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009

The Reichen Show
2005

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

Trailblazer Honors
2014

MADtv
1995

Project Accessory
2011

The Megan Mullally Show
2006

Jesus
2000

Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
2014

The One Show
2006

Entertainment Tonight
1981

Extra
1994