Biography

As interior decorator Grace Adler, Debra Messing understands the unique bond of friendship that exists between her character and the character of Will Truman: "Grace is very dedicated and disciplined when it comes to her professional life," says Messing. "But her personal life isn’t nearly so together, and Will is her stabilizing force. She’s a little neurotic, and she knows Will is the only person who understands her and can help her put things in perspective. But Grace is also a lot of fun, and her humor helps balance Will’s more serious personality. They’re the kind of best friends who know each other’s history and can finish each other’s sentences."
Messing recently completed a co-starring role in Woody Allen’s Celebrity, having been handpicked by the director for the part. In the film, Messing portrays a rabid news journalist. Her other feature-film credits include Alfonso Arau’s romantic love story A Walk in the Clouds in which she played the wife of Keanu Reeves. She also appeared opposite Tom Arnold and Tim Curry in McHale’s Navy.

Born in Brooklyn, Messing and her older brother were raised in a quiet community outside Providence, Rhode Island. Messing received her liberal arts education at Brandeis University where she majored in theater arts. She spent half of her junior year studying in London’s prestigious B.E.S.G.L. program, which featured dramatic arts teachers recruited from various distinguished institutions such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, Cambridge University and Oxford University. Upon graduating summa cum laude from Brandeis, she was accepted into New York University’s elite Graduate Acting Program and received her M.F.A. three years later.

On the New York stage, Messing garnered much praise for her performance in the pre-Broadway workshop of Tony Kushner’s Tony Award-winning play Angels in America: Perestroika. She appeared as Cecily in a Seattle production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Upon returning to New York, she was cast as both Mary Louise Parker’s and Polly Draper’s understudy in the off-Broadway premiere of John Patrick Shanley’s Four Dogs and a Bone. She also co-starred in Paul Rudnick’s The Naked Truth and co-starred with Maria Tucci in the acclaimed two-woman production of Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories, which was chosen as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

On television, Messing starred for two seasons as Stacey in the comedy Ned & Stacey opposite Thomas Haden Church. She had a recurring role on NYPD Blue as Gail O’Grady’s conniving sister, Dana Abandando, and on NBC’s Seinfeld as Jerry’s ideal but elusive love, Beth Lookner. She also starred as the young bioanthropologist Sloan Parker in the recent drama series Prey.

During her free time, she supports charities such as the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, AmFAR and Best Friend’s Pet Sanctuary.

Filmography

NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002) (TV) .... Herself
Hollywood Ending (2002) .... Lori
Mothman Prophecies, The (2002) .... Mary Klein

Jesus (1999) (TV) .... Mary Magdalene
... aka Bibel - Jesus, Die (1999) (TV) (Germany)
"Will & Grace" (1998) TV Series .... Grace Elizabeth Adler
Celebrity (1998) .... Cameraman at Lupus Office
"Prey" (1998) TV Series .... Dr. Sloan Parker
Prey (1997) .... Dr. Sloan Parker
McHale's Navy (1997) .... Lt. Penelope Carpenter
"Ned and Stacey" (1995) TV Series .... Stacey Colbert Dorsey
Walk in the Clouds, A (1995) .... Betty Sutton