
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.
Acting (102 movies)

Singin' in the Rain
1952

The Bodyguard
1992

The Gazebo
1960

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
1998

In & Out
1997

Heaven & Earth
1993

How the West Was Won
1962

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
1998

Mother
1996

Return to Halloweentown
2006

Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
2001

Halloweentown
1998

Halloweentown High
2004

The People's Command Performance: '77
1977

Wedding Bell Blues
1996

What's the Matter with Helen?
1971

Three Little Words
1950

The Unsinkable Molly Brown
1964

Tammy and the Bachelor
1957

Bundle of Joy
1956

The Tender Trap
1955

Charlotte's Web
1973

The Mating Game
1959

Two Weeks with Love
1950

The Christmas Wish
1998

Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
2000

I Love Melvin
1953

The Singing Nun
1966

Susan Slept Here
1954

Goodbye Charlie
1964

Pepe
1960

One for the Money
2012

These Old Broads
2001

Zack and Reba
1998

Divorce American Style
1967

The Rat Race
1960

Hollywood: The Dream Factory
1972

The Catered Affair
1956

June Bride
1948

Athena
1954

The Pleasure of His Company
1961

Say One for Me
1959

The Second Time Around
1961

Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
2001

Battling for Baby
1992

Mary, Mary
1963

Meet Me in Las Vegas
1956

This Happy Feeling
1958

Hit the Deck
1955

Give a Girl a Break
1953

Skirts Ahoy!
1952

The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
1950

Behind the Candelabra
2013

Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983

My Six Loves
1963

It Started with a Kiss
1959

The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
1953

Cinerama Adventure
2002

Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
1989

How Sweet It Is!
1968

Challenge the Wilderness
1951

The Andy Williams Christmas Show
1962

Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
2005

Connie and Carla
2004

The Story of a Dress
1964

That's Entertainment!
1974

Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
1960

Tab Hunter Confidential
2015

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
2017

Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
2002

That's Entertainment! III
1994

Mr. Imperium
1951

Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
1993

Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
2007

What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain'
2002

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
2008

That's Entertainment, Part II
1976

Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace!
1978

A Star Is Born World Premiere
1954

The Brothers Warner
2008

The Best of Broadway
1985

Rugrats: Babies in Toyland
2002

Sadie and Son
1987

In the Picture
2012

Do It Debbie's Way
1983

Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children
1969

Virtual Mom
2000

That's Dancing!
1985

Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
2012

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
2009

Couples Do It Debbie's Way
1988

Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
1997

Committed
2014

Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales
2003

Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God?
2021

Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
2021

Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's
2009

Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
2009

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
2004
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