In brief
Mary Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress who rose to prominence in the late 1970s and 1980s through intense dramatic roles portraying resilient, multifaceted women.
Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to Robert Jack Winger, a meat packer, and Ruth Felder, an office manager, Winger began her career with small television roles before breaking through in the film Urban Cowboy (1980), earning critical praise for her authentic depiction of a working-class wife. She followed with leading performances in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and Terms of Endearment (1983), receiving consecutive Academy Award nominations for Best Actress, along with BAFTA and Golden Globe nods.
Debra Winger was born Mary Debra Winger on May 16, 1955, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to Robert Jack Winger, a meat packer, and Ruth Felder Winger, an office manager. Her father named her after his favorite actress, Debra Paget. The family was Jewish, with some accounts describing it as Orthodox.
Photographs
Hero photograph: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
