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Debbie Reynolds (born April 1, 1932) is an American actress, dancer and singer.

Singer and actor

Debbie Reynolds was born as Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, the second child of Raymond Francis Reynolds (1903-1986) and Maxine N. Harman (1913-1999).

Her family moved to Burbank, California, in 1939. At 16, Debbie Reynolds won the Miss Burbank Beauty Contest, a motion picture contract with Warner Brothers, and acquired her new first name.

Reynolds appeared in small roles in two Warner Brothers movies and signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Cast in Three Little Words, starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton, Reynolds's second MGM film appearance in Two Weeks With Love, received strong notices. She then appeared in the flop Mr. Imperium opposite Lana Turner.

Over Gene Kelly's initial opposition and her lack of ability to tap dance, Reynolds played the female lead in Singin' in the Rain. Reynolds' hard work paid off in a well-received performance with Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

Reynolds went on to star in numerous movies, such as Bundle of Joy (1956), with her then-husband, Eddie Fisher (singer) and record hit songs (most notably "Tammy" from her 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor, the first of the series of Tammy movies) and headline major Las Vegas showrooms. Her starring role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) led to an Oscar nomination, but she lost to Julie Andrews in Mary Poppins.

As of present day she was still making appearances in film and television, one of the few actors from MGM's "golden age of film" (including Anita Page, Mickey Rooney, Lauren Bacall, Cyd Charisse, Margaret O'Brien, Jane Powell, Rita Moreno, Leslie Caron, Dean Stockwell, Van Johnson, Angela Lansbury, Russ Tamblyn and June Lockhart) who was still active in filmmaking. From 1999 to its 2006 finale, she played the recurring role of Grace's domineering mother Bobbi Adler on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. She also plays a recurring role in the DCOM TV movie series Halloweentown as Aggie Cromwell.

Reynolds has been active in the Thalians Club and has also displayed her large collection of movie memorabilia, first in a Las Vegas resort during the 1990s and later in a museum close to the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, California. She has on several occasions auctioned off items from the collection. In 2006, Reynolds is set to open another museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, close to the Dollywood theme park.

Awards and nominations

Debbie Reynolds was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress following her performance in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a Golden Globe for The Debbie Reynolds Show on television (1970), a Golden Globe for the motion picture Mother (1996), and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for In & Out (1997). In 1997 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy.

In what Reynolds herself called the worst blunder of her career, she made big headlines in 1970 instigating a fight with NBC over cigarette advertising on her TV show. NBC canceled her show despite good ratings.

Reynolds' foot and hand prints are preserved at the Grauman's Chinese Theater in Hollywood. She also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6654 Hollywood Boulevard.

In November 2006, Debbie Reynolds received the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Chapman University in Orange, California.

Songs

• "Aba Daba Honeymoon"
• "Am I That Easy To Forget"
• "Tammy"

Trivia

• For many years, Reynolds and Liberace shared the services of personal manager, Seymour Heller.
• Reynolds was a Girl Scout and a troop leader. A scholarship in her name is offered to high-school age Girl Scouts.

• Height: 5'2"
• Reynolds is the mother of Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.
• Original career ambition: a gymnast.
• Reynolds remarked many years later that making Singin' in the Rain and giving birth were the two hardest things she's ever had to do.

Filmography

• June Bride (1948)
• The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady (1950)
• Three Little Words (1950)
• Two Weeks with Love (1950)
• Mr. Imperium (1951)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• Skirts Ahoy! (1952)
• I Love Melvin (1953)
• The Affairs of Dobie Gillis (1953)
• Give a Girl a Break (1953)
• Susan Slept Here (1954)
• Athena (1954)
• Hit the Deck (1955)
• The Tender Trap (1955)
• Meet Me in Las Vegas (1956) (Cameo)
• The Catered Affair (1956)
• Bundle of Joy (1956)
• Tammy and the Bachelor (1957)
• This Happy Feeling (1958)
• The Mating Game (1959)
• Say One for Me (1959)
• It Started with a Kiss (1959)
• The Gazebo (1959)
• The Rat Race (1960)
• Pepe (1960) (Cameo)
• The Pleasure of His Company (1961)
• The Second Time Around (1961)
• How the West Was Won (1962)
• Mary, Mary (1963)
• My Six Loves (1963)

• The Story of a Dress (1964) (short subject)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964)
• Goodbye Charlie (1964)
• The Singing Nun (1966)
• Divorce American Style (1967)
• How Sweet It Is! (1968)
• What's the Matter with Helen? (1971)
• Charlotte's Web (1973) (voice)
• Busby Berkeley (1974) (documentary)
• That's Entertainment! (1974) (narrator)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) (voice in 1998 English dubbed version)
• The Bodyguard (1992) (Cameo)
• Heaven & Earth (1993)
• That's Entertainment! III (1994)
• Mother (1996)
• Wedding Bell Blues (1996) (Cameo)
• In & Out (1997)
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) (voice only)
• Zack and Reba (1998)
• Halloweentown (1998)
• Keepers of the Frame (1999) (documentary)
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie (1999) (voice)
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000) (voice)
• These Old Broads (2001)
• Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
• Cinerama Adventure (2002) (documentary)
• Connie and Carla (2004) (Cameo)
• Halloweentown High (2004)
• Fingers Walking (2005)

TV appearances

• The Eddie Fisher Show (1957-1959) (regular performer throughout run)
• The Debbie Reynolds Show (1969-1970)
• "The Dick Cavett Show" (16 December 1971)
• Aloha Paradise (1981) (canceled after 4 months)
• Sadie and Son (1987)
• The Golden Girls (1991)
• Battling for Baby (1992)
• Roseanne (1997)
• Halloweentown (1998)
• The Christmas Wish (1998)

• A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story (1999)
• Will & Grace (recurring role from 1999-2006)
• Virtual Mom (2000)
• Rugrats (cast member from 2000-2004) (voice)
• These Old Broads (2001)
• Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001)
• Tracey Ullman in Trailer Tales (2003) (Cameo)
• Halloweentown High (2004)
• Return to Halloweentown (2006)

External links

• Debbie Reynolds Official Website: The only authorized website by Debbie Reynolds herself.

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