Amongst selfies starring her signature thick-rimmed black glasses and wild auburn locks, Messing’s instagram page is filled with unapologetic politics…
By Moonah Ellison & Eden Mor
Debra Messing is a TV institution.
Most know her from her breakout role of interior designer Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom, Will and Grace. Or maybe you saw her as a homicide detective in her starring role in Mysteries of Laura. Perhaps it was her brief stint on yet another NBC show, Smash, playing Julia Houston. For the Law and Order: SVU junkies out there, remember that season 12 episode, Pursuit? Yeah, that was Debra Messing. A small number of you may even recognize her as Molly from The Starter Wife, a mini-series turned TV show. Oh and get this, she even played one of Jerry’s girlfriends in Seinfeld, back in the 90s.
So in case that first part wasn’t clear… Debra Messing is a TV institution.
It’s easy to assume that to make it in such a cutthroat industry, you’ve got to color inside the lines. Not to say anything too harsh, or too controversial. But a quick visit to Messing’s Instagram page, which has racked up a whopping 1.4 million followers, tells quite a different story. Amongst selfies starring her signature thick-rimmed black glasses and wild auburn locks, Messing’s page is filled with unapologetic politics. Her bio includes a link to donate to democratic campaigns for state legislature seats. She’s got a highlight decked out with tweets and infographics labeled “ACTIVISM”. A couple of frames down from her most recent photo, Debra reposted a New York Times article on Kansas abortion rights. Just below it, a bulleted list of Biden’s achievements throughout his presidency. And if the hateful remarks, nestled between comments from adoring fans get to her, it’s safe to say she doesn’t show it.
"...They make us feel better, they make us feel more hopeful, they bring some semblance of peace to our hearts after we're done talking to them... "
In a space where one wrong word can snowball into an online catastrophe, Messing isn’t scared to speak her mind.
When Debra Messing was first offered the role of Grace Adler, a role which would establish the trajectory of her career, she recalls one of the primary reasons she gave NBC the go-ahead, besides the script, was “the reassurance that all the characters who were gay would be treated with respect and dignity.” Messing made sure that the other title name in the show, Will, and the other LGBTQ+ characters, “wouldn’t be a caricature or the way that gay characters had been written historically in television.” Messing received seven Golden Globe nominations, and five emmy nominations, winning once, for her work on the groundbreaking sitcom.
Now, nearly 24 years after Will and Grace aired, Messing has more than just a toe in the pool of American politics and activism. Besides spreading awareness through Instagram and Twitter, she is joined by friend and founder of I Am a Voter, Mandana Dayani, in a podcast of their own creation, The Dissenters.
“We were sitting on her couch in California,” said Messing, “talking about how fulfilling it is to talk to people who are just choosing to do something about an injustice or an inequity or anything that they feel should be different in our society.” Messing and Dayani wanted to talk to ordinary people, but ones who took activism into their own hands. They cleverly named them, “accidental activists”. Messing went on to say that these people, “they make us feel better, they make us feel more hopeful, they you know bring some semblance of peace to our hearts after we’re done talking to them.” And so, the Covid-19 pandemic, though inconvenient in nearly every aspect, created the circumstances under which The Dissenters was born.
"And Doing The Play Was So Glorious... I Mean, It Was The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done. But It Brought Me A Joy That Nothing Else Can Give Me..."
But despite how it may seem, Messing’s path to TV and Twitter fame (a highlight being a public tweet-battle with none other than Donald Trump), wasn’t that straight-forward.
“I grew up in Rhode Island, next to a farm, you know, on four acres of land. And I was eight miles from the nearest gas station,” Messing told us. “The most exciting things that my family would do would drive to New York City to see a musical.” After one such viewing (of Annie), the future star was decided. She wanted to be an actress. Her mother, not surprised as she too had been a singer when she was young, accepted Messing’s goal. Though her father, more interested in her financial stability, steered her away from attending a conservatory after high school. Instead, she earned a BS at Brandeis University in Massachusetts, graduating as a scholar with a clear path to Harvard Law, or so her father had hoped. But this time Messing went with her gut, and applied to NYU’s graduate acting program, a prestigious one at that. And you know the rest.
However, Messing, now divorced and mother to one beautiful son, felt as though something was missing before she took on her most recent role in Netflixs movie adaption of the hit musical, 13. Working on the project, alongside an all-star child cast, helped Messing ”[get] in touch with [her] roots,” she said. “The thing that made me want to do it all from the beginning.”
“I think I had, I had sort of lost the clarity of that. And doing the play was so glorious. I mean, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But it brought me a joy that nothing else can give me and it’s sort of sold me my purpose again,” she passionately divulged.
It almost feels full circle for Messing. Growing up poor, a ticket to a Broadway musical was a luxury for her. Now, there isn’t a kid in the world that has to fly all the way to New York City to see 13: The Musical. As long as you’ve got a phone, you can just watch along.
So what’s next for Messing? Her answer speaks for itself:
“I’ve been asked many, times to write a book. And you know, I don’t feel like I have enough to say to write a book yet. But I am developing TV shows and reading books and magazine articles as source material for developing movies or television shows – and not necessarily for myself. Just to be a part of, you know, creating content stories that are filling gaps in the landscape of storytelling,” she said.
Photography: Joseph Chen
Stylist: Alison Hernon
Make Up: Elaine Offers
Hair : Robert Vetica
"...It's Sort Of Sold Me My Purpose Again..."
Dress by Christian Siriano, Bracelet by Alexis Bittar Margaret, Colombian Emerald Palmette, Earrings by FD Gallery