Admirers all around the world wished they were the stunning Debra Winger when Naval Officer Zack Mayo snatched factory worker Paula into his arms and whisked her from her place of employment in a classic romantic tale.
The iconic moment from the romance drama An Officer and a Gentleman, in which Richard Gere portrayed the dashing hero in navy whites, Officer Zack Mayo, became the standard for romantic tales for daydreamers.
Acting beside some of the sexiest men in Hollywood made Debra Winger the envy of many.
Winger, who is 67 years old, is still stunning today. Winger has shared pictures of herself on Instagram throughout the last few years; initially, she had brown hair, but now it is a naturally wavy gray.
Winger played Drusilla, the younger sister of Lynda Carter’s Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, in the popular TV series Wonder Woman (1979). Her first major role came in the 1976 film Slumber Party ’57. Winger was requested to make more appearances, but she declined out of fear that the role would mold her into a certain mold.
The emerging star would have a lucrative early 1980s and had no regrets about that choice.
She was nominated for multiple Academy Awards and Golden Globes during the peak of her early career for her roles in three classic 1980s films.
She costarred with John Travolta in Urban Cowboy in 1980; at the time, he was making fans go crazy with his slick dance moves in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1988); she also played Emma in Terms of Endearment (1983), where she played a dying young woman with an overbearing mother named Aurora, played by Shirley MacLaine, and as Paula in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982).
Despite her enormous success, Winger took a brief break from acting to focus on other projects. Over forty years after her ascent to fame, rumors about her departure persist.
The majority of these rumors center on Winger’s conflicts with her co-stars.
Despite the fact that Winger reportedly had enough of the attractive Gere on the set, fans couldn’t get enough of him.
As stated in a passage from co-star Louis Gossett Jr.’s book “An Actor and a Gentleman,” which ABC News published, “The onscreen chemistry between the two of them was terrific, but it was a different story once the camera was turned off.” They were too close to one another to have remained apart.
Additionally, according to Gossett, Winger didn’t think highly of Gere’s acting and once called him “a brick wall.” She also called Taylor Hackford, the film’s director, who she did not like, “animal.”
Not just the characters in the movie bothered her.
MacLaine was a gorgeous, quirky, and seasoned veteran who contrasted with Winger, who was a free spirit both in real life and in her part as Emma.
Their romance began with that first meeting.
In a People interview, MacLaine stated, “I was wearing all my leftover movie-star fur coats to see how my character would feel.” “Debra was there, wearing a miniskirt and combat boots.I exclaimed, “Oh my goodness.”
According to People, “In fact, the set turned into the origin of Hollywood’s most cherished rumors.” Winger desired first place. It was said that one slugged the other.
Subsequently, the two women faced off at the Oscars after receiving nominations for best actress.
“I deserve this,” MacLaine declared in her acceptance speech as she took the award home.
Despite the rumors, Winger maintains that she “pushed the pause button” on Hollywood for private, not for work-related, reasons.
“I didn’t care for the parts that were about to happen. That was something I had already done or experienced. I required a challenge. I totally embraced the challenge that my life presented to me, Winger said to People.
MacLaine was a gorgeous, quirky, and seasoned veteran who contrasted with Winger, who was a free spirit both in real life and in her part as Emma.
Their romance began with that first meeting.
In a People interview, MacLaine stated, “I was wearing all my leftover movie-star fur coats to see how my character would feel.” “Debra was there, wearing a miniskirt and combat boots.I exclaimed, “Oh my goodness.”
According to People, “In fact, the set turned into the origin of Hollywood’s most cherished rumors.” Winger desired first place. It was said that one slugged the other.
Subsequently, the two women faced off at the Oscars after receiving nominations for best actress.
“I deserve this,” MacLaine declared in her acceptance speech as she took the award home.
Despite the rumors, Winger maintains that she “pushed the pause button” on Hollywood for private, not for work-related, reasons.
“I didn’t care for the parts that were about to happen. That was something I had already done or experienced. I required a challenge. I totally embraced the challenge that my life presented to me, Winger said to People.
We can’t imagine a Hollywood without Debra Winger and we hope she soon gets to take home an Academy Award! What are your favorite Winger movies?
Acting alongside Hollywood’s hottest men, Debra Winger was the envy of many.
Today, Winger, 67, is as beautiful as ever. In the past few years, Winger has posted photos herself on Instagram, first with brown hair and now to a natural wavy gray.
Winger’s first starring role was in the 1976 film Slumber Party ‘57, which led to a part on the hit TV series Wonder Woman (1979), where she played Drusilla, the younger sister to Lynda Carter’s Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Winger was asked to appear more often but concerned she’d be typecast by that role, she declined.
There were no regrets for that decision, the early ‘80s would be prosperous for the rising star.
At the height of her young career, she received numerous nods from the Academy and Golden Globes for performances in three iconic movies of the 1980’s.
In 1980, she starred in Urban Cowboy, with John Travolta, who at the time was driving fans wild with his smooth dance moves in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1988); as Paula in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and in Terms of Endearment (1983), where she played Emma, a dying young woman with an over-bearing mother, Aurora, played by Shirley MacLaine.
Despite her huge success, Winger, carving hours from her acting schedule, took a mini Hollywood hiatus, and more than four decades after her rise to stardom, speculation of why she left is still circulating.
Most of these rumours revolve around the feuds that Winger had with her co-stars.
Though fans couldn’t get enough of the handsome Gere, it’s been widely reported that Winger had enough of him on the set.
According to an excerpt published on ABC News from the book, “An Actor and a Gentleman,” by co-star, Louis Gossett Jr., who played Sgt. Emil Foley: “The onscreen chemistry between the two of them was terrific, but it was a different story once the camera was turned off. They couldn’t have stayed farther apart from each other.”
Gossett also claims that Winger didn’t think much of Gere’s acting and wrote that she once described Gere as “a brick wall.” And, the film’s director, Taylor Hackford, whom she also did not like, she referred to as “animal.”
It wasn’t only people on that film that ruffled her feathers.
Winger, a free spirit in real life and in her role as Emma, also clashed with the prolific MacLaine, a glamorous, eccentric and seasoned veteran.
Their first meeting set the stage for their relationship.
“To see how my character would feel I was wearing all my leftover movie-star fur coats,” MacLaine said in an interview with People. “There was Debra dressed in combat boots and a miniskirt…I thought, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
People writes, “Indeed, the set became the source of Hollywood’s most relished rumors. Winger wanted top billing. One reportedly slugged the other.”
And then, the women were pitted against each other in the Oscars when they were both nominated for best actress.
MacLaine, taking the trophy home, said in her acceptance speech, “I deserve this!”
Rumors aside, Winger insists she “pushed the pause button” on Hollywood for personal reasons and not professional.
“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 told People.
After starring in the 1995 romcom Forget Paris with Billy Crystal, Winger took a six-year break.
In that time, she moved to New York City and shifted her focus to actor Arliss Howard, whom she married in 1996. The pair have a son, Gideon Babe, who was born in 1997, and she is stepmother to Sam, Howard’s son from a previous marriage. She also has another biological child, Noah Hutton, whom she mothered while married to her first husband, Timothy Hutton (1986 to 1990).
She reappeared in the 2001 film Big Bad Love, that was directed and produced by her husband, who also co-starred alongside Winger and Rosanna Arquette, who’s next project was 2002 film Searching for Debra Winger. As director of the documentary, Arquette attempts to answer why Winger temporarily abandoned her career at peak performance.
Winger gained some momentum with roles in Rachel Getting Married (2008) with Anne Hathaway, the 2017 romcom The Lovers, and the crime-comedy, Kajillionaire (2020).
In 2021, she was in With/In, Volume two of the anthological drama film, in the segment Her Own, which is written and directed by her husband, who also co-stars.
“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,” Winger said, adding, “…although there must be some in-crowds that I just don’t know about.”
Without Debra Winger, we couldn’t imagine Hollywood, and we hope she wins an Oscar soon! Which Winger films are your favorites?
James Earl Jones, acclaimed actor and voice of Darth Vader, dead at 93
James Earl Jones, the beloved stage and screen actor who lent his iconic, deep voice to Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in The Lion King, has died at 93.
Regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, Jones’ career spanned Shakespeare to Hollywood hits. He is one of the few actors to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony Award.
The actor’s death was reported by Deadline, via his representatives at Independent Artist Group.
James Earl Jones was born January 17, 1931 in Arkabutla, Mississippi and raised by his grandparents in Dublin, Michigan. While he would later become one of the most famous voices in the world, he says he suffered from a stutter in his youth.
“I was a stutterer. I couldn’t talk,” Jones recalled in a 1996 interview. “So my first year of school was my first mute year, and then those mute years continued until I got to high school.” A teacher encouraged him to overcome his stutter by reading poetry aloud.
Jones served in the US Army during the Korean War, and after decided to pursue a career in acting. He studied at the American Theatre Wing, working as a janitor to support himself. By the 1960s, Jones was establishing himself as one of his generation’s great Shakespearean actors, playing roles like Othello and King Lear. He also made his film debut in Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1964 comedy Dr. Strangelove, as bombadier Lt. Lothar Zogg.
In 1967, he played a boxer in The Great White Hope, winning the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. He reprised the role in the 1970 film version, receiving his first Academy Award nomination.
Amidst all his acclaimed acting work, Jones soon landed his most well-known and iconic role — one where he didn’t even have to appear on set: voicing the villainous Darth Vader in Star Wars. While Vader was played in costume by David Prowse, Jones dubbed over the lines with his own deep bass voice, helping to create one of the most famous characters in movie history.
While Jones originally opted to go uncredited for the role, it has become perhaps his most famous performance. He continued to voice Vader for decades, in the two sequels The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, the prequel Revenge of the Sith and the spin-off Rogue One. In 2022, Jones retired from the role, but signed an agreement for his voice to be used in future projects using artificial intelligence and archive recordings.
Jones also provided the voice of another beloved movie character, Mufasa in the 1994 Disney film The Lion King. Jones later reprised the role in the 2019 remake.
Throughout the ’80s and ’90s, Jones appeared in many Hollywood films, including Conan the Barbarian, Coming to America, Field of Dreams, and The Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games and The Sandlot. He also won his second Tony Award, starring in the original production of August Wilson’s Fences.
He received eight Emmy Award nominations for his television work, winning twice in 1991: Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for Heat Wave and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Gabriel’s Fire.
Jones also continued to perform on Broadway: over the past 20 years he starred in revivals of On Golden Pond, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Driving Miss Daisy, The Best Man and You Can’t Take it With You.
Jones was the recipient of many awards and honors throughout his acclaimed career. He received an Honorary Academy Award in 2011, making him one of the only people to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award, known as “EGOT.” Broadway’s Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre in his honor in 2022.
Rest in peace to the iconic James Earl Jones, one of the greatest actors of our time — please share this
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