bibliography
NNDB
This is a beta version of NNDB
Search: for

Debra Winger

Debra WingerAKA Mary Debra Winger

Born: 16-May-1955
Birthplace: Cleveland, OH

Gender: Female
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: An Officer and a Gentleman

At 17 Debra Winger was a troll at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park. One day, while changing into costume in the back of a truck, the truck unexpectedly moved, landing Winger on her head and in a coma for three days. Upon waking, she was partially paralyzed and in the opinion of doctors, permanently blind, but over the next ten months Winger's sight and bodily functions slowly returned.

Her first film was a 1976 sex farce called Slumber Party '57. A year later, she was Lynda Carter's kid sister on Wonder Woman. She had a major part in the foreign exchange comedy French Postcards, but much of Winger's role was edited out. Her first major role was in Urban Cowboy (1980) with John Travolta. She was swept off her feet by Richard Gere in An Officer and A Gentleman, and died in Terms of Endearment with Shirley MacLaine. She has been nominated for an Oscar three times.

Winger has always been blunt and outspoken, and by most accounts is considered difficult to work with. She was critical of co-star Robert Redford during and after filming Legal Eagles. While filming Leap of Faith with Steve Martin, she reportedly feuded with the director, with Martin, and with anyone else who came within earshot. Watching An Officer and A Gentleman, it would never occur to one that she despised Gere from their first day on the set.

The actress abruptly quit Hollywood in the mid-1990s, retiring to concentrate on raising her children. In 2002, Rosanna Arquette made a documentary about actresses over 40 who have struggled to find roles, including Daryl Hannah and Melanie Griffith. The film was titled, fittingly, Searching for Debra Winger. Since the documentary, Winger has occasionally acted again, with small roles in big-screen films and big roles in TV movies.

Father: Robert Winger (kosher meatpacker)
Mother: Ruth Felder (office worker, d. 19-Mar-1996)
Sister: Marla Winger
Brother: Marc Winger (b. 1950, school superintendent)
Boyfriend: Nick Nolte (actor, dated 1981-82)
Boyfriend: Al Pacino (actor, dated in 1980s)
Boyfriend: Bob Kerrey (US Senator, dated from 1983-85)
Husband: Timothy Hutton (actor, m. 1986, div. 1990, one child)
Son: Emmanuel Noah Hutton (b. 29-Apr-1987, with Hutton)
Husband: Arliss Howard (actor, m. Nov-1996, one child)
Son: Gideon "Babe" Howard (b. 15-Jun-1997, with Howard)

    High School: James Monroe High School, Sepulveda, CA (1972)
    University: California State University Northridge (dropped out)

    Innocence Project Artists' Committee
    Coma 1972
    Paralyzed

    TELEVISION
    Wonder Woman Wonder Girl

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Lola Versus (24-Apr-2012) · Robin
    Rachel Getting Married (3-Sep-2008) · Abby
    Sometimes in April (17-Feb-2005)
    Dawn Anna (10-Jan-2005)
    Eulogy (15-Oct-2004)
    Radio (24-Oct-2003) · Linda
    Searching for Debra Winger (16-May-2002) · Herself
    Big Bad Love (12-May-2001) · Marilyn
    Forget Paris (19-May-1995) · Ellen
    Shadowlands (25-Dec-1993) · Joy Gresham
    A Dangerous Woman (10-Sep-1993) · Martha
    Wilder Napalm (20-Aug-1993)
    Leap of Faith (18-Dec-1992) · Jane
    The Sheltering Sky (21-Nov-1990) · Kit
    Everybody Wins (19-Jan-1990) · Angela Crispini
    Betrayed (26-Aug-1988) · Katie Phillips
    Made in Heaven (6-Nov-1987)
    Black Widow (6-Feb-1987) · Alexandra
    Legal Eagles (18-Jun-1986) · Laura Kelly
    Mike's Murder (9-Mar-1984)
    Terms of Endearment (23-Nov-1983) · Emma Horton
    An Officer and a Gentleman (28-Jul-1982) · Paula Pokrifki
    Cannery Row (12-Feb-1982) · Suzy
    Urban Cowboy (6-Jun-1980) · Sissy
    French Postcards (19-Oct-1979)
    Thank God It's Friday (19-May-1978)
    Slumber Party '57 (Sep-1976)

Author of books:
Undiscovered (2008)


New!
NNDB MAPPER
Create a map starting with Debra Winger
Requires Flash 7+ and Javascript.

Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile



Copyright ©2019 Soylent Communications