Debbie Reynolds
Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds 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.
Known for
Family Guy
Mrs. Wilson (voice)
RuPaul's Drag Race
Self - Guest Judge
Great Performances
Self
The Love Boat
Sheila Evans
The Love Boat
Doris Talbert
The Penguins of Madagascar
Granny Squirrel (voice)
Rugrats
Lulu Pickles (voice)
Kim Possible
Nana Possible (voice)
The Golden Girls
Truby
The Carol Burnett Show
Self - Guest / Various Characters
The Steve Allen Show
Self - Recipient
The Colgate Comedy Hour
Self
Alice
The 7D
Grandmommers Whimsical (voice)
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee
Tony Awards
Self - Memoriam (archive footage)
This Is Your Life
Self
Will & Grace
Bobbi Adler
Wings
Deedee Chappel
Touched by an Angel
Betty Poplovich
Hotel
The Oscars
Self
Kraft Music Hall
The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour
Self
Dinah!
Self
Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters
Self
The George Gobel Show
Self
Hollywood Squares
Self - Panelist
Hollywood Squares
The Debbie Reynolds Show
Debbie Thompson
Intimate Portrait
Self
Madame's Place
Self
What's My Line?
Self - Mystery Guest
Roseanne
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
The Bodyguard
Debbie Reynolds
The DuPont Show of the Week
Self
Singin' in the Rain
Kathy Selden
Startime
Tammy and the Bachelor
Tammy Tyree
American Bandstand
Self
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Debbie Reynolds (voice)
The Sonny and Cher Show
First Monday
One for the Money
Grandma Mazur
How the West Was Won
Lilith Prescott
Return to Halloweentown
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Aloha Paradise
Sydney Chase
In & Out
Berniece Brackett
Behind the Candelabra
Frances
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Lulu Pickles (voice)
Bracken's World
Halloweentown
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Mr. Imperium
Gwen
Charlotte's Web
Charlotte (voice)
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Ford Star Jubilee
Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul
Self
Heaven & Earth
Eugenia
Pepe
Debbie Reynolds
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie
Mrs. Claus / Mitzi / Mrs. Prancer / School Teacher (voice)
Halloweentown High
Agatha 'Aggie' Cromwell
Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age
Self
The Gazebo
Nell Nash
Mother
Beatrice Henderson
The Pearl Bailey Show
Self
Zack and Reba
Beulah Blanton
Meet Me in Las Vegas
Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self (archive footage)
Tab Hunter Confidential
Self
Hit the Deck
Carol Pace
The Unsinkable Molly Brown
Molly Brown
That's Entertainment!
Self - Host / Narrator
That's Entertainment, Part II
(archive footage)
Susan Slept Here
Susan Beaurgard Landis
These Old Broads
Piper Grayson
A Gift of Love: The Daniel Huffman Story
Shirlee Allison
Tracey Ullman in the Trailer Tales
Herself
Divorce American Style
Barbara Harmon
Connie and Carla
Herself
This Happy Feeling
Janet Blake
The Singing Nun
Sister Ann
Goodbye Charlie
Charlie Sorel / Virginia Mason
Jennifer Slept Here
Alice Farrell
The Mating Game
Mariette Larkin
How Sweet It Is!
Jenny
The Second Time Around
Lu Rogers
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Give a Girl a Break
Suzy Doolittle
It Started with a Kiss
Maggie Putnam
Two Weeks with Love
Melba Robinson
My Six Loves
Janice Courtney
That's Dancing!
Athena
Minerva Mulvain
I Love Melvin
Judy Schneider / Judy LeRoy
What's the Matter with Helen?
Adelle Bruckner
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
The Rat Race
Peggy Brown
Happy 100th Birthday, Hollywood
Self
The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story
Self
Three Little Words
Helen Kane
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood
Self
Say One for Me
Holly LeMaise
Cleopatra: The Film That Changed Hollywood
Self (archive footage)
The Catered Affair
Jane Hurley
The Tender Trap
Julie Gillis
That's Entertainment! III
Self - Co-Host / Narrator
Bundle of Joy
Polly Parish
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project
Self
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds
Self
Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom
Self
Skirts Ahoy!
Debbie Reynolds (uncredited)
The Pleasure of His Company
Jessica Poole
Wedding Bell Blues
Debbie Reynolds
Wedding Bell Blues
Self
June Bride
Boo's Girlfriend at Wedding
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Self (archive footage)
Perry Mason: The Case of the Musical Murder
Amanda Cody
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Songs: America's Greatest Music in the Movies
Self
The Best of Broadway
Herself
What a Glorious Feeling: The Making of 'Singin' in the Rain'
Self
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History
Self
Twentieth Century Fox: The First 50 Years
Self
Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's
Self
Couples Do It Debbie's Way
The Affairs of Dobie Gillis
Pansy Hammer
The People's Command Performance: '77
Self
Gene Kelly: Anatomy of a Dancer
Self
The Brothers Warner
Self
The Christmas Wish
Ruth
The Andy Williams Christmas Show
Battling for Baby
Helen
Rugrats: Babies in Toyland
Lulu Pickles (voice)
Hollywood: The Dream Factory
Self (archive footage)
The Daughter of Rosie O'Grady
Maureen O'Grady
Mary, Mary
Mary McKellaway
Challenge the Wilderness
Narrator (uncredited)
Cinerama Adventure
Self
Virtual Mom
Gwen
Do It Debbie's Way
Self
Keepers of the Frame
Herself
Committed
Self
Leapin' Lizards, It's Liberace!
Herself
The Slippers
In the Picture
Aunt Lilith
Hollywood Singing and Dancing: A Musical History - The 1930s: Dancing Away the Great Depression
Self
Debbie Reynolds and the Sound of Children
Self
Get Aboard! 'The Band Wagon'
Self (archive footage)
Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God?
Self (archive footage)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Alice (voice)
The Story of a Dress
Self
Sadie and Son
Sadie
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host
Vicki!
Self
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Hostess
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
The Reichen Show
Self - Guest
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Self
The Bob Hope Show
Self
Sidewalks Entertainment
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
The One Show
Self - Guest
Entertainment Tonight
Self