1932-04-01 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. 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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Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes | Self (archive footage) | 2024-05-16 |
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Commitment to Life | Self (archive footage) | 2023-02-10 |
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Sœur Sourire : Qui a tué la voix de Dieu ? | Self (archive footage) | 2021-06-11 |
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Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age | Self | 2021-08-14 |
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Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds | Self | 2017-01-11 |
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The Slippers | 2016-03-11 | |
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Tab Hunter Confidential | Self | 2015-03-15 |
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Committed | Self | 2014-04-04 |
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Behind the Candelabra | Frances | 2013-05-26 |
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In the Picture | Aunt Lilith | 2012-09-28 |
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Tony Curtis - le gamin de Bronx | Self | 2012-03-20 |
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One for the Money | Grandma Mazur | 2012-01-26 |
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Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's | Self | 2009-05-19 |
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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression | Self | 2009-01-01 |
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The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story | Self | 2009-04-24 |
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Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History | Self | 2008-10-14 |
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The Brothers Warner | Self | 2008-10-16 |
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The Jill & Tony Curtis Story | 2008-04-27 | |
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Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project | Self | 2007-10-13 |
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Return to Halloweentown | Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell | 2006-10-20 |
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Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon' | Self (archive footage) | 2005-03-15 |
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Halloweentown High | Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell | 2004-10-08 |
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AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies | Self | 2004-06-22 |
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Connie and Carla | Herself | 2004-04-16 |
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Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales | Herself | 2003-08-09 |
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Rugrats: Babies in Toyland | Lulu Pickles (voice) | 2002-12-21 |
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Cinerama Adventure | Self | 2002-08-30 |
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What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain' | Self | 2002-09-24 |
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Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer | Self | 2002-09-24 |
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These Old Broads | Piper Grayson | 2001-02-12 |
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Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood | Self (archive footage) | 2001-04-03 |
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Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge | Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell | 2001-10-12 |
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Virtual Mom | Gwen | 2000-01-01 |
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Lulu Pickles (voice) | 2000-11-17 |
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A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story | Shirlee Allison | 1999-11-21 |
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Keepers of the Frame | Herself | 1999-03-01 |
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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Debbie Reynolds (voice) | 1998-05-22 |
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Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie | Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice) | 1998-10-16 |
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The Christmas Wish | Ruth | 1998-12-06 |
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Halloweentown | Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell | 1998-11-10 |
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Zack and Reba | Beulah Blanton | 1998-11-01 |
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In & Out | Berniece Brackett | 1997-09-10 |
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Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years | Self | 1997-01-21 |
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Wedding Bell Blues | Self | 1996-10-18 |
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Wedding Bell Blues | Debbie Reynolds | 1996-10-18 |
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Mother | Beatrice Henderson | 1996-12-25 |
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That's Entertainment! III | Self - Co-Host / Narrator | 1994-07-01 |
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Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul | Self | 1993-05-14 |
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Heaven & Earth | Eugenia | 1993-12-25 |
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Battling for Baby | Helen | 1992-01-12 |
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The Bodyguard | Debbie Reynolds | 1992-11-25 |
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Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder | Amanda Cody | 1989-04-09 |
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Couples Do It Debbie's Way | 1988-01-01 | |
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Sadie and Son | Sadie | 1987-10-21 |
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Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood | Self | 1987-05-18 |
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The Best of Broadway | Herself | 1985-05-24 |
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That's Dancing! | 1985-01-18 | |
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Do It Debbie's Way | Self | 1983-03-11 |
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers! | Self (archive footage) | 1982-01-01 |
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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | Alice | 1981-01-01 |
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Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace! | Herself | 1978-06-20 |
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The People's Command Performance: '77 | Self | 1977-04-07 |
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That's Entertainment, Part II | (archive footage) | 1976-05-16 |
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Bob Hope's World of Comedy | Self (archive footage) | 1976-10-29 |
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That's Entertainment! | Self - Host / Narrator | 1974-06-21 |
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Charlotte's Web | Charlotte (voice) | 1973-03-01 |
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Hollywood: The Dream Factory | Self (archive footage) | 1972-01-10 |
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What's the Matter with Helen? | Adelle Bruckner | 1971-06-30 |
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Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children | Self | 1969-11-06 |
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How Sweet It Is! | Jenny | 1968-08-21 |
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Divorce American Style | Barbara Harmon | 1967-06-21 |
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Mondo Hollywood | 1967-06-30 | |
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The Singing Nun | Sister Ann | 1966-03-17 |
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Goodbye Charlie | Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason | 1964-11-18 |
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The Unsinkable Molly Brown | Molly Brown | 1964-06-11 |
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The Story of a Dress | Self | 1964-01-01 |
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My Six Loves | Janice Courtney | 1963-04-03 |
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Mary, Mary | Mary McKellaway | 1963-10-24 |
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How the West Was Won | Lilith Prescott | 1962-11-02 |
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The Pleasure of His Company | Jessica Poole | 1961-06-01 |
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The Second Time Around | Lu Rogers | 1961-12-22 |
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Pepe | Debbie Reynolds | 1960-12-21 |
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Hedda Hopper's Hollywood | Self | 1960-01-10 |
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The Rat Race | Peggy Brown | 1960-07-10 |
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Say One for Me | Holly LeMaise | 1959-06-19 |
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The Mating Game | Mariette Larkin | 1959-04-29 |
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It Started with a Kiss | Maggie Putnam | 1959-08-19 |
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The Gazebo | Nell Nash | 1959-12-18 |
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This Happy Feeling | Janet Blake | 1958-06-18 |
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Tammy and the Bachelor | Tammy Tyree | 1957-06-14 |
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Bundle of Joy | Polly Parish | 1956-12-12 |
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Meet Me in Las Vegas | Debbie Reynolds (uncredited) | 1956-03-09 |
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The Catered Affair | Jane Hurley | 1956-06-14 |
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The Tender Trap | Julie Gillis | 1955-11-04 |
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Hit the Deck | Carol Pace | 1955-02-24 |
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Athena | Minerva | 1954-11-04 |
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Susan Slept Here | Susan Beaurgard Landis | 1954-07-28 |
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A Star Is Born World Premiere | Self | 1954-09-28 |
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I Love Melvin | Judy Schneider / Judy LeRoy | 1953-03-20 |
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Give a Girl a Break | Suzy Doolittle | 1953-11-13 |
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The Affairs of Dobie Gillis | Pansy Hammer | 1953-08-14 |
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Skirts Ahoy! | Debbie Reynolds (uncredited) | 1952-05-28 |
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Singin' in the Rain | Kathy Selden | 1952-04-10 |
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Challenge the Wilderness | Narrator (uncredited) | 1951-10-29 |
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Mr. Imperium | Gwen | 1951-03-02 |
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Three Little Words | Helen Kane | 1950-07-12 |
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Two Weeks with Love | Melba Robinson | 1950-11-10 |
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The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady | Maureen O'Grady | 1950-04-29 |
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June Bride | Boo's Girlfriend at Wedding | 1948-10-29 |
