Meet Our Speaker

Debra Messing is best known for her role on NBC’s Emmy Award-winning comedy series “Will & Grace,” in which she played a Jewish interior designer whose best friend and soul mate is gay. For her work on the popular sitcom, Messing won the 2003 Emmy Award for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series,” and garnered multiple Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and Emmy Award nominations throughout the run of the show.

In addition to “Will & Grace,” she has been a fixture on the screen and stage, with television shows like “The Starter Wife,” “Smash,” and “The Mysteries of Laura.” Her hit movies include “The Wedding Date” and “Along Came Polly.” She has starred in a variety of plays, both on and off Broadway.

Raised outside Providence, Rhode Island, Messing devoted much of her childhood to musical theatre, performing in numerous productions at both school and camp, which ignited her interest in the stage. She received her liberal arts education at Brandeis University, where she majored in Theatre Arts. Upon graduating summa cum laude, she was accepted into the Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and received her M.F.A. three years later.

As a member of the only Jewish family in an Irish-Catholic neighborhood, Messing experienced a great deal of anti-Semitism as a child. Nonetheless, her parents continued to provide a strong Jewish life for her family. Her father served as president of their synagogue and both of her parents were leaders in their local Federation. Additionally, her mother was involved at the national level of Federation’s Business & Professionals group.

Messing is a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community and HIV/AIDS education.