About Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress. After graduating from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing starred in the shortlived television series, Ned and Stacey on Fox (1995–1997), and Prey on ABC (1998). She achieved her breakthrough role as Grace Adler, an interior designer, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2017–2020), co-starring Megan Mullally, for which she received seven Golden Globe Award nominations and five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, winning once, in 2003.
From 2007 to 2008, Messing starred as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, on the television miniseries The Starter Wife, for which she received two Golden Globe nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Thereafter, she appeared as Broadway playwright Julia Houston on the NBC musical drama Smash (2012–2013) and as homicide detective Laura Diamond on the NBC police-procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura (2014–2016). From 2017 to 2020, Messing reprised her role as Grace Adler on NBC's three season revival of Will & Grace, garnering a ninth Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
Messing's film work includes A Walk in the Clouds (1995), Jesus (1999), The Mothman Prophecies (2002), Hollywood Ending (2002), Along Came Polly (2004), The Wedding Date (2005), Lucky You (2007), The Women (2008), Nothing Like the Holidays (2008), Searching (2018), and 13: The Musical (2022). She has also lent her voice to animated films such as Garfield (2004) and Open Season (2006).
Politically, Messing supports the Democratic Party. In 2004, Messing started working on campaigns by knocking on doors and making phone calls. In 2018, Messing co-founded I am a voter. with Mandana Dayani, a nonpartisan civic movement to educate and mobilize voters. Before the runoff election in Georgia in 2021, Messing posted a message on Instagram directing followers to VoteRiders for information on voter ID requirements and assistance with obtaining an ID to vote.
In October 2023, following the outbreak of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War in Gaza, Messing was one of the signatories of an open letter supporting the Israeli military, published by the pro-Israel organization Creative Community For Peace.
In November 2023, amid growing criticism of the Israeli military, Messing was among more than a dozen creators and celebrities who confronted TikTok executives in a private phone call, during which she accused the site of being "the main platform for the dissemination of Jew hate". The company reportedly pushed back against claims that it was promoting pro-Palestine, anti-Israel content through its feeds, stating instead that while the platform regularly moderates anti-semitic, anti-Arab racist, and Islamophobic content, it does not moderate or amplify the spread of content that accuses Zionism of being settler colonialism, the alleged apartheid, or the ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians.
Messing is of Ashkenazi Jewish, Polish, and Russian descent. She is married to actor and screenwriter Daniel Zelman. As of June 2024, she has amassed 1.4 million Instagram followers.
