When we become accustomed to seeing a celebrity on the screen, we really miss it when they are no longer there. Sometimes they just seem to disappear for no reason at all, but there is always something that is going on behind the scenes.
That was the case with Debra Winger, who had a lot of issues she had to deal with in life and it took her away from acting for a while. Understanding more about her will help you to appreciate more of what she went through.
Debra was born on May 16, 1955 in Cleveland, Ohio. She was intelligent from her youth and graduated from high school when she was only 15. She then went to college for criminology.
When Deborah was 17, she worked in an amusement park in California and an accident would change her life. She was in a Christmas show dressed as a troll and had to take care of the costume because it was expensive.
She was riding on the back of a small truck and noticed that the costume was slipping. When she reached for it, the driver swerved and she was thrown from the vehicle.
After waking up in the hospital, she realized the level of injuries that she had. A brain hemorrhage was caused by the accident and she was blind and paralyzed on one side of her body. It took her months to recover and she was drifting in and out of a coma.
Doctors said that she may never walk or return to a normal life again but when she was strong enough, she decided to pursue acting full-time. She now had a sense of purpose that would push her forward.
Her first role was in the television show, Wonder Woman, where she played Drusilla. It was a brief role, but it got her started.
Deborah had a lot of talent but she didn’t fit into any one particular niche. It took a while, but eventually, she was in Urban Cowboy in 1980 with John Travolta. She rides a mechanical bull in one scene and the audience couldn’t get enough of it.
After that movie, she was a household name. She then went on to play in An Officer and a Gentleman with Richard Gere and won an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. From there, she was on Terms of Endearment and continued to be in one movie after another.
By the 90s, things were changing and she wasn’t as excited about her Hollywood career. The quality of the scripts she was receiving was severely diminished. After she received her third Oscar nomination for Shadowlands, she decided to step away from Hollywood.
Many people were confused as to why she would do this because she seemed to be at the top of her game. Some people felt that there may be health issues but others thought that it could have been romance.
In the end, she explained it, saying: “No. I stopped because I ceased being challenged. I don’t want to sound like some old moaning loudspeaker about ‘women’s roles,’ but it wasn’t good.”
While she was away from the spotlight she worked on her personal life. She married Arliss Howard in 1993 and they raised three sons together. All three of those boys have careers in the film industry.
She also took care of her mother when she was dying, did some charity work, and taught at Harvard. She even wrote a book and did some stage performances.
When she did return to acting, she thought that it was somewhat challenging. She ended up saying that she wouldn’t advise anyone to step away as she did.
These days, she is working on her farm in Sullivan County, New York, and working on a number of film projects. She enjoys her time, reflecting on her life and career and we appreciate all that she has given to us.