Debra Winger

American actress

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 19, 2026

Quick Summary

Debra Winger is an American actress born on May 16, 1955, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. She is known for her roles in films such as Terms of Endearment (1983), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), and Shadowlands (1993). Winger has been married twice, first to Timothy Hutton and currently to Arliss Howard. Her career spans several decades, with notable film and television appearances including Kajillionaire (2020) and The Ranch (2016–2020).1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

James Bridges
…marriage to independent Sissy (Debra Winger) disintegrate while he struggles to be accepted in the world of Gilley’s, the famed Houston honky-tonk, with its mechanical bull and competitive dance floors. Cowritten by Bridges, Urban Cowboy was a box office hit and spawned a best-selling sound track. Bridges next wrote…
Read More
…marriage to independent Sissy (Debra Winger) disintegrate while he struggles to be accepted in the world of Gilley’s, the famed Houston honky-tonk, with its mechanical bull and competitive dance floors. Cowritten by Bridges, Urban Cowboy was a box office hit and spawned a best-selling sound track. Bridges next wrote…
Read More

Bob Rafelson
Films of the late 1980s and beyond
…the other for their money; Debra Winger played the dogged investigator who catches on to the scam but finds herself oddly attracted to her suspect. Reviews of the film were mixed: some critics found it absorbing; others thought it predictable.
Read More
…the other for their money; Debra Winger played the dogged investigator who catches on to the scam but finds herself oddly attracted to her suspect. Reviews of the film were mixed: some critics found it absorbing; others thought it predictable.
Read More