Debra Winger describes herself first as a mother; next as an ambassador for Sight Savers International, an organization working to eradicate blindness in the world's poorest countries; and finally as an actor. Having lost her sight for 10 months after an accident at age 17, and having prepared herself at that time for the possibility that her vision would not be restored, Winger can understand the despair a person who goes blind might feel. The accident, which she has described as having her eyes “turned inward,” was the thing that ultimately made Winger decide to pursue an acting career. She is now acknowledged as one of the finest actors on stage and screen, with credits including more than 20 films and three Academy Award nominations.
The role that first gave Winger a taste of large-scale success was that of Linda Carter's super-powered younger sister in the fantasy television series Wonder Woman. Her first critical success in film came in 1980, with her portrayal of John Travolta's mechanical-bull riding girlfriend in Urban Cowboy. She received her first Oscar nomination in 1982, for her performance in An Officer and a Gentleman. Winger's other films from the eighties and nineties include Terms of Endearment and Shadowlands (for which she also received Academy Award nominations), as well as Cannery Row, Made in Heaven, The Sheltering Sky, Leap of Faith, A Dangerous Woman (for which she received a Golden Globe nomination), and Forget Paris. In 1995, Winger began a six-year break from her film career, during which she appeared on stage at the American Repertory Theater (in Paula Vogel's How I Learned to Drive, among others), toured with the London Symphony (performing Michael Tilson Thomas's composition based on the life of Anne Frank), and taught at Harvard University. She made her return to film in 2001, with Big Bad Love, for which she was an actor and producer. Roles in Radio and Eulogy followed in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Winger's current projects include two television dramas, Dawn Anna and … Sometimes in April. |
