Debra Winger’s Talented Performances from the ‘80s Will Live With Us Forever – and She’s Still Stunning at 67

Debra Winger is an American actress born in 1955. She made her Hollywood appearance in the 1970’s and captured the hearts of millions. She will soon celebrate her 69th birthday and the beloved actress looks incredible and lives a life of love and happiness.

Debra Winger Discovers Her Passion

Debra Winger was born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, to parents Ruth Felder and Robert Jack Winger. The family moved to California when little Debra Winger was only five. It didn’t take long for her to discover her love of acting. She performed in high school but kept it a secret from her family. Although she would go on to study criminology in college, something would happen that would change the course of her life forever.

When she was 15 years old, Debra Winger was thrown from a moving truck and sustained severe injuries and temporary blindness. Upon recovering, she opted not to finish college and instead pursue her passion. She has performed in several commercials and appeared on 1970s TV shows like Task Force and Wonder Woman. In the late 1970s, she did star in a couple of movies, but none that would launch her stardom.

Starring in Successes and Flops

However, in 1980, her luck on screen would change. Debra Winger starred alongside John Travolta in Urban Cowboy, which ultimately caught the attention of audiences everywhere. Although she would again perform unsuccessfully, 1982 would be another highlight for the actress. She would voice E.T. and play in An Officer and a Gentleman. For the next ten years, Debra Winger would make numerous other appearances, some successful like Terms of Endearment and Shadowlands. However, others like Black Widow and Wilder Napalm would be less popular. Fortunately, the latter would set up a new destiny for Debra Winger.

Breaking Away from Hollywood

Debra Winger co-starred alongside Arliss Howard in Wilder Napalm in 1993 and would eventually marry him. Debra Winger’s personal life first made headlines in 1986, when the actress left her partner at the time, Bob Kerrey, and eloped with Timothy Hutton. The pair would have a son together, Noah, before ultimately calling it quits in 1988, officially divorcing in 1990. She and Arliss would be together for three years before marrying in 1996. Although she once had a passion for acting, her numerous flops had put a damper on her desire to continue in Hollywood. “I don’t know what Hollywood is. I’m living under the freaking sign now, and I just stare at it and laugh. Los Angeles is a place, but the idea of Hollywood doesn’t really exist for me,” she said, adding, “…although there must be some in-crowds that I just don’t know about.”

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Debra Winger Finds New Joy

Debra Winger would take a break from acting after a few more rocky onscreen appearances, including Wilder Napalm. She and Arliss also had a son, Babe. “The parts that were coming, I wasn’t interested in. I’d already done that, or I’d already felt that. I needed to be challenged. My life challenged me more than the parts, so I dove into it fully,” Winger explained. Debra Winger also found a desire to take risks and expand her horizons. “I definitely would call myself a risk-taker, but that’s because I was too stupid to know there was a risk at the time.” She said. “I’m interested in what scares me. I just try to scare myself most days. You’re really only here for a very short time, so I’m not really understanding the point of protecting something. The ultimate insult is coming for us all.”

However, in the early 2000s, her love for performing was renewed. Debra Winger would star in and co-produce films that were also produced by her husband.

Fighting Ageism

Although she’s had some ups and downs in Hollywood, Debra Winger faced yet another Hollywood-related roadblock. Ageism. In 2017, she sat down with Las Vegas Review Journal to share her perspective on aging in Hollywood. “Aging is precious for all of us. I wish our society would give more power to the wisdom of aging rather than this race to keep physical things intact. Yet, I don’t begrudge anyone’s choices.” She shared.

“A few years ago, when I was in the middle of doing obscure things like teaching and writing books, I was invited to a Hollywood party. So, I go and I’m doing well. I see people who don’t recognize me because I’ve actually aged.” She further explained.

Debra Winger was in the spotlight for only a short amount of time. However, at that time, while she starred in some underperforming projects, she also did things that brought her career to new heights. In the face of it all, she kept unapologetically loving life, those around her, and herself without conforming to the ideals of others. Currently, she and her son Babe are co-stars in an online show called Out of Pocket.

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