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Debbie Reynolds

Debbie Reynolds

Birthday: 1932-04-01 | Place of Birth: El Paso, Texas, USA

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.[1] 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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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2015
Tab Hunter Confidential

as    Self

2012
One for the Money

as    Grandma Mazur

2006
Return to Halloweentown

as    Agatha Cromwell

2004
Halloweentown High

as    Aggie Cromwell

2001
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge

as    Agatha Cromwell

2001
These Old Broads

as    Piper Grayson

1998
Halloweentown

as    Aggie Cromwell

1998
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie

as    Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice)

1998
The Christmas Wish

as    Ruth

1997
In & Out

as    Berniece Brackett

1996
Mother

as    Beatrice Henderson

1994
That's Entertainment! III

as    Self - Co-Host / Narrator

1993
Heaven & Earth

as    Eugenia

1981
Aloha Paradise

as    Sydney Chase

1974
That's Entertainment!

as    Self - Host / Narrator

1973
Charlotte's Web

as    Charlotte (voice)

1971
What's the Matter with Helen?

as    Adelle Bruckner

1969
The Debbie Reynolds Show

as    Debbie Thompson

1967
Divorce American Style

as    Barbara Harmon

1966
The Singing Nun

as    Sister Ann

1964
Goodbye Charlie

as    Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason

1964
The Unsinkable Molly Brown

as    Molly Brown