Debbie Reynolds was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian and humanitarian.
Born Mary Frances Reynolds in El Paso, Texas, she moved to southern California with her family when she was seven years old. In 1948 she was named Miss Burbank, which led to a movie contract with Warner Bros. within a few years she had moved to MGM, where she thrived in the studio's musicals.
Foundation Interviewees on working with Debbie Reynolds
With her first name changed to Debbie, she made her big-screen debut in the 1950 musical comedy The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady, and in the years that followed she made dozens of other films. Her best known films included Singin' in the Rain, Two Weeks with Love, The Tender Trap, Tammy and the Bachelor, The Unsinkable Molly Brown (for which she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress) and the Albert Brooks comedy Mother.
Other films included Three Little Words,The Catered Affair, Bundle of Joy, The Mating Game, The Gazebo, Say One for Me, The Pleasure of His Company, The Singing Nun, Divorce American Style, How the West Was Won, The Singing Nun, How Sweet It Is!, What's the Matter with Helen, and In & Out.
In 1969 she had her own short-lived television television series, The Debbie Reynolds Show, and she starred in another short-lived series, Aloha Paradise, in 1981.
In addition, she appeared on numerous talk and variety shows, as well as scripted comedies and dramas. They included The Love Boat, Hotel, The Golden Girls, Wings, Roseanne, Touched by an Angel and Will & Grace. For the latter, in which she played the mother of Grace Adler, played by Debra Messing, Reynolds received an Emmy nomination for Oustanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000.
Her made-for-TV movies included These Old Broads (which was written by her daughter, Carrie Fisher) and Behind the Candelabra.
She also provided the voice of the title character in the 1973 film Charlotte's Web and provided voices for such animated television series as The Rug Rats and Kim Possible.
Other professional accolades included five Golden Globe nominations, and in 2016 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scienes honored her with its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.
Reynolds died on December 28, 2016, in Los Angeles. She was 84.
