From 2007 to 2008, Messing starred as Molly Kagan, the ex-wife of a Hollywood film mogul, on the television miniseries The Starter Wife, for which she received two Golden Globe nominations, a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Thereafter, she appeared as Broadway playwright Julia Houston on the NBC musical drama Smash (2012–2013) and as homicide detective Laura Diamond on the NBC police-procedural comedy The Mysteries of Laura (2014–2016). From 2017 to 2020, Messing reprised her role as Grace Adler on NBC's three season revival of Will & Grace, garnering a ninth Golden Globe nomination for her performance.
Messing was born in Brooklyn, New York,[2][3] the daughter of Sandra (née Simons), who worked as a professional singer, banker, and travel and real estate agent, and Brian Messing, a sales executive for a costume jewelry packaging manufacturer. Their Jewish ancestors came from Russia and Poland.[4][5] Messing had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony.[6][7][8] When Messing was three, she moved with her parents and her older brother, Brett, to East Greenwich, Rhode Island.[9]
While Messing's parents encouraged her dream of becoming an actress, they also urged her to complete a liberal arts education before deciding on acting as a career. Following their advice, she attended Brandeis University, where, at her parents' request, three-quarters of her courses were not theater-related.[3]
In 1993, Messing won acclaim for her performance as Harper in the pre-Broadway workshop production of Tony Kushner's play Angels in America: Perestroika.[2] Subsequently, she appeared in several episodes of the television series NYPD Blue during 1994 and 1995.
In 1998, Messing played a lead role as the bioanthropologist Sloan Parker on ABC's dramatic science-fiction television series Prey. During this time, her agent approached her with the pilot script for the television show Will & Grace. Messing was inclined to take some time off, but the script intrigued her, and she auditioned for the role of Grace Adler, beating Nicollette Sheridan, who later guest-starred on the show as Grace's romantic rival. Will & Grace became a ratings success, and Messing received critical acclaim for her performance.[2]
Director Woody Allen cast Messing in a supporting role in his film Hollywood Ending (2002). Her film roles since include Richard Gere's ill-fated wife in the supernatural thriller The Mothman Prophecies (2002) and a supporting role as an unfaithful bride in Along Came Polly (2004). The Wedding Date (2005) was Messing's first leading role in a high-profile film. It received mixed reviews but performed fairly well at the box office.
Messing was featured as a judge on the season finale of the second season of Bravo's reality show Project Runway. Also in 2005, along with Megan Mullally, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[11]
She also starred in the television miniseries The Starter Wife (2007), which was nominated for ten Emmy Awards, including one for Messing for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie. In 2008, Messing reprised her role as Molly Kagan in the television series The Starter Wife, consisting of 10 episodes.[12] In early 2010, Messing starred in the ABC comedy pilot Wright vs. Wrong for the 2010–2011 primetime season, but ABC did not pick-up the pilot.[13]
In July 2011, Messing was ranked no. 22 on the TV Guide Network special, Funniest Women on TV. In February 2011, producers announced that Messing would star in a new NBC musical pilot called Smash for the 2011–2012 primetime season.[14] In May 2011, it was reported that NBC picked up the show as a series for the 2011–2012 season.[15] The show premiered on February 6, 2012. The show was later renewed for a second season after which it was cancelled.[16]
Messing starred in The Mysteries of Laura, a police procedural television show that premiered in September 2014. The series lasted for two seasons and ended in 2016. Messing portrayed Marjorie Houseman in the television remake of the film Dirty Dancing (1987). It aired on ABC in May 2017.[19] She starred again as Grace Adler in the revival of Will & Grace on NBC. The revival aired for three seasons, from September 2017 to April 2020.
Personal life
Messing met Daniel Zelman, an actor and screenwriter, on their first day as graduate students at New York University in 1990. They were married on September 3, 2000, and lived in Manhattan. On April 7, 2004, Messing gave birth to their son, Roman.[20] In December 2011, she and her husband separated after 11 years of marriage.[21] Messing filed for divorce on June 5, 2012,[22] and the divorce became official on March 1, 2016.[23] Messing dated her Smash co-star Will Chase from the end of 2011 to October 2014.[24] In 2012, she posed nude for the May issue of Allure magazine.[25]
Activism
Politically, Messing supports the Democratic Party.[26] In 2004, Messing started working on campaigns by knocking on doors and making phone calls.[27] In 2018, Messing co-founded I am a voter. with Mandana Dayani, a nonpartisan civic movement to educate and mobilize voters.[28] Before the runoff election in Georgia in 2021, Messing posted a message on Instagram directing followers to VoteRiders for information on voter ID requirements and assistance with obtaining an ID to vote.[29]
2005: Honored with the Lucy Award, by the Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards – to recognize women and men and their creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
2017: Honored with the Excellence in Media Award by the GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) – to individuals in the media and entertainment industries who through their work have increased the visibility and understanding of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community.
^Miller, Gerri (March–April 2006). "Lady of Grace". American Jewish Life Magazine. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved April 7, 2010.
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