Debra Wilson facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Debra Wilson
Wilson at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	New York City, U.S.
Other names	Debra Wilson Skelton Debra Skelton
Alma mater	Syracuse University
Occupation	Actress comedian
Years active	1992–present
Spouse(s)	Cliff Skelton ​ ​ (m. 2006; separated 2010)​

Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is well-known for her many roles in TV shows, movies, and video games. She was an original cast member on the comedy show Mad TV for eight seasons.

Debra Wilson has also lent her voice to many popular characters. You might have heard her in shows like Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart and Baby Shark's Big Show!. She has also voiced characters in video games such as Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Halo Infinite, and Diablo IV. In 2022, she became the voice of Daisy Duck on Mickey Mouse Funhouse. This made her the first African-American person to voice the character.

Early Life and First Steps

Debra Wilson was born and grew up in Ozone Park, Queens, a neighborhood in New York City. She went to the New York City High School of the Performing Arts. After high school, she studied television and radio at Syracuse University. Before becoming famous, she worked as a preschool teacher in the 1980s.

Her first TV appearances were on comedy shows like The Apollo Comedy Hour. She also co-hosted a shopping show called Can We Shop? with Joan Rivers. Debra Wilson even worked as a spokesperson for Burger King and appeared on the TV show New York Undercover.

Her Amazing Career

Debra Wilson in 2010

Starring on Mad TV

Debra Wilson was one of the first eight actors on Mad TV. This sketch comedy show started in 1995. She was already good at comedy and acting before joining the show.

She created many popular characters on Mad TV. Some of these were Melina, Tovah McQueen from Reality Check, and Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson. Bunifa was known for talking very fast.

Debra Wilson was also famous for her impressions of other celebrities. Her best-known impressions were Oprah Winfrey and Whitney Houston. She even played Oprah-like characters in movies like Scary Movie 4. She also did impressions of Beyoncé Knowles, Mariah Carey, and Lil' Kim.

TV Shows and Voice Acting

After MADtv, Debra Wilson did a lot of voice acting for TV shows. She had regular roles on shows like Clone High and Family Guy. She also did puppeteer work on The Mr. Potato Head Show. She voiced Captain Lisa Cusak in an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

She has appeared in many independent films. These include Jane White Is Sick and Twisted and Soulmates. She also had guest roles on crime shows like Without a Trace and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

Debra Wilson has also hosted TV shows. She was a co-host on TV Watercooler and GSN Live. Today, she is the announcer for the game show Weakest Link on NBC. In 2022, she started voicing Headless Headmistress Bloodgood in the animated series Monster High.

On Stage

From 1988 to 1991, Debra Wilson performed in an improv comedy group. They were called Noo Yawk Tawk. They performed off-Broadway at The Village Gate Theater in New York City.

Video Game Voices

Debra Wilson has voiced many characters in video games. She played Grace Walker in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. She also voiced Cere Junda in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. You can hear her as General Lyons in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Her voice is also in games like The Outer Worlds, Gears 5, and Rage 2. She is the voice of Draka in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. She also voices Savathûn in Destiny 2 and the Harbinger in Halo Infinite.

Personal Life

Debra Wilson married writer and director Cliff Skelton in April 2006. They separated in 2010.

Awards