Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress. She is known for her television roles in Will & Grace, The Starter Wife, Smash and The Mysteries of Laura.

Following her graduation from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Messing had short-lived tenures on the Fox sitcom Ned & Stacey and the ABC sci-fi Prey. She rose to prominence in her role as interior designer Grace Adler on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace, earning both commercial and critical success throughout the series' eight season run. She also received critical acclaim for her work as Molly Kagan in the USA Network series The Starter Wife. She also played the lead role of Julia Houston in the musical-drama series Smash, before it was cancelled by NBC after two seasons.

Her film roles have included an unfaithful bride in Along Came Polly, followed by a more sympathetic role in The Wedding Date, and then Nothing like the Holidays. She has also voiced roles in several animated films such as Garfield and Open Season.

Messing has received a total of six Emmy nominations, winning one, eight Screen Actors Guild nominations, winning one, and eight Golden Globe nominations.

Biography

Messing met her now former husband, Daniel Zelman, an actor and screenwriter, on their first day as graduate students at NYU in 1990. They were married on September 3, 2000, and lived in New York City. On April 7, 2004, Messing gave birth to their son, Roman Walker Zelman. In December 2011 she and her husband separated after eleven years of marriage. Messing filed for divorce on June 5, 2012.

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