Happy Birthday: Debbie Reynolds!

Debbie Reynolds (born April 1, 1932), performed in many movie musicals during the 1950s and had several hit records during the same period. Her song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" featured in the 1950 film, Two Weeks with Love(1950) was a top-three hit in 1951. She is best known for her performance in the film, Singin' in the Rain (1952). A comedy musical film starring Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor and Jean Hagen and directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, with Kelly also providing the choreography. It shows a comic view of Hollywood, and its transition from silent films to "talkies."

Next she went on to perform in the film, In Bundle of Joy (1956), with her then-husband, Eddie Fisher. Which, is a musical remake of the comedy film, Bachelor Mother (1939).  The story is about a unmarried salesgirl at a department store, who finds and takes care of an abandoned baby. The fun begins when her co-workers believe the child is hers and that the father is the son of the store owner.

Her recording of the song "Tammy", from her 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor (1957), was the best-selling single by a female vocalist in 1957.



In 1959, Reynolds recorded her first album, called Debbie, which included her own selection of 12 standards including "S’posin'", "Moonglow", "Mean To Me" and "Time After Time". Reynolds also had two other top-25 Billboard hits with "A Very Special Love" (1958) and "Am I That Easy to Forget" (1960).

Her starring role in the film The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) led to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She then portrayed Jeanine Deckers in the film, The Singing Nun (1966).

From 1999 to its 2006 series finale, she played Grace Adler's mother, Bobbi Adler, on the sitcom, Will & Grace (1998–2006), which earned her a Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000. She also plays a recurring role in the Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown film series as Aggie Cromwell. Reynolds made a guest appearance as a presenter at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997.



She is currently performing in her West End show Debbie Reynolds: Alive and Fabulous. In June 2010, her publicist Edward Lozzi secured her a role as a regular columnist for the weekly paper Globe, replacing Ivana Trump in answering reader queries.

She has received various nominations for awards including: an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for The Debbie Reynolds Show (1970), a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Mother (1996) and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, for her role of Bobbi Adler in the sitcom Will & Grace (2000). In 1996 and 1997, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy, in the American Comedy Awards.