Debra Winger facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Debra Winger
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![]() Winger in 1984
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Born |
Debra Lynn Winger
May 16, 1955 Cleveland Heights, Ohio, U.S.
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Education | California State University, Northridge |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1976–present |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Debra Lynn Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. She is famous for her roles in the movies An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Terms of Endearment (1983), and Shadowlands (1993). For each of these films, she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Winger's other well-known movies include Urban Cowboy (1980), Legal Eagles (1986), and Rachel Getting Married (2008). In 2012, she performed on Broadway for the first time in a play called The Anarchist. From 2016 to 2020, she starred in the Netflix TV show The Ranch.
Contents
Early Life and a Big Challenge
Debra Winger was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to a Jewish family. Her father, Robert, was a meat packer, and her mother, Ruth, was an office manager.
When she was a teenager, she visited a kibbutz (a type of community) in Israel on a youth tour. After she returned to the United States at age 18, she was in a serious car accident. She had a brain injury that left her unable to move or see properly for 10 months. Doctors first told her she might never see again. This difficult time gave her a lot of time to think. She decided that if she recovered, she would move to California to become an actress.
Acting Career
Getting Started
Winger's first acting role was in 1976. She then played Drusilla, the younger sister of Wonder Woman, in the TV series Wonder Woman. The show's producers wanted her to be in more episodes, but she said no. She worried that playing the same character for too long could affect her future career.
Her first major movie role was in Urban Cowboy in 1980. Her performance earned her nominations for several awards. In 1982, she starred with Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman. This role led to her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Becoming a Star
Winger was nominated for an Academy Award two more times. The first was for Terms of Endearment in 1983, where she played the daughter of Shirley MacLaine's character. The second was for Shadowlands in 1993.
Over the years, Winger became known for being passionate about her work and speaking her mind. Some people found her difficult to work with, but others admired her for caring so much about her projects. Famous actress Bette Davis once said, "I see a great deal of myself in Debra Winger... because she cares about the project."
Winger was supposed to star in the movie Peggy Sue Got Married, but she had to drop out after an injury. She was also cast in A League of Their Own but was replaced by Geena Davis. It was later said that Winger left the movie because she did not want to work with the singer Madonna.
Taking a Break and Returning to Acting
In 1995, Winger decided to take a break from acting. She later explained, "I wanted out for years. I got sick of hearing myself say I wanted to quit." After her 1995 movie Forget Paris, she did not appear on screen for six years.
She returned in 2001 in the movie Big Bad Love, which was directed by her husband, Arliss Howard. She also worked as a producer on the film for the first time. Since then, she has appeared in many movies and TV shows. She received good reviews for playing Anne Hathaway's mother in Rachel Getting Married (2008).
From 2016 to 2020, Winger starred with Sam Elliott and Ashton Kutcher in the Netflix comedy series The Ranch.
Other Work and Interests
During her break from movies, Winger taught at Harvard University for a semester. In 2008, she wrote a book about her life called Undiscovered.
She has also supported schools in Israel that teach Jewish and Arab students together. She is passionate about creating understanding between different groups.
Winger has also worked as a producer on documentary films. She was a producer for Gasland, a film about natural gas drilling that was nominated for an Academy Award.
Personal Life
From 1986 to 1990, Winger was married to actor Timothy Hutton. They have a son named Noah Hutton, who is a documentary filmmaker.
In 1996, Winger married actor and director Arliss Howard. They have a son named Gideon Babe Ruth Howard, who is called Babe. Winger is also a stepmother to Sam Howard, Arliss's son from a previous marriage.
In March 2025, Winger took part in a protest at Trump Tower. She spoke out on issues of Jewish safety and expressed her views on how the ideas of Judaism and Zionism are sometimes mixed together.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role |
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1978 | Thank God It's Friday | Jennifer |
1979 | French Postcards | Melanie |
1980 | Urban Cowboy | Sissy |
1982 | Cannery Row | Suzy DeSoto |
1982 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | Halloween Zombie—Nurse with poodle |
1982 | An Officer and a Gentleman | Paula Pokrifki |
1983 | Terms of Endearment | Emma Horton |
1984 | Mike's Murder | Betty Parrish |
1986 | Legal Eagles | Laura J. Kelly |
1987 | Black Widow | Alexandra 'Alex' Barnes |
1987 | Made in Heaven | Emmett Humbird |
1988 | Betrayed | FBI Agent Cathy Weaver / Katie Philips |
1990 | Everybody Wins | Angela Crispini |
1990 | The Sheltering Sky | Kit Moresby |
1992 | Leap of Faith | Jane Larson |
1993 | Wilder Napalm | Vida Foudroyant |
1993 | A Dangerous Woman | Martha Horgan |
1993 | Shadowlands | Joy Gresham |
1995 | Forget Paris | Ellen Andrews Gordon |
2001 | Big Bad Love | Marilyn |
2002 | Searching for Debra Winger | Herself |
2003 | Radio | Linda |
2004 | Eulogy | Alice Collins |
2008 | Rachel Getting Married | Abby |
2012 | Lola Versus | Robin |
2014 | Boychoir | Ms. Steel |
2017 | The Lovers | Mary |
2020 | Kajillionaire | Theresa Dyne |
2021 | With/In: Volume 2 |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1976–1977 | Wonder Woman | Drusilla / Wonder Girl | 3 episodes |
1978 | Special Olympics | Sherrie Hensley | TV movie |
1978 | Police Woman | Phyllis Baxter | Episode: "Battered Teachers" |
1992 | Sesame Street | Herself | 1 episode |
2005 | Dawn Anna | Dawn Anna | TV movie |
2005 | Sometimes in April | Prudence Bushnell | TV movie |
2010 | Law & Order | Mrs. Woodside | Episode: "Boy on Fire" |
2010 | In Treatment | Frances | 7 episodes |
2014 | The Red Tent | Rebecca | 2 episodes |
2016–2020 | The Ranch | Maggie Bennett | Main role |
2017 | When We Rise | Elena Kagan | TV miniseries |
2018 | Patriot | Bernice Tavner | Main role (season 2) |
2021 | Mr. Corman | Ruth Corman | 4 episodes |
2024 | Accused | Margot | Episode: "Margot's Story" |
See also
In Spanish: Debra Winger para niños