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Debra Mooney
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Debra Mooney

Debra Mooney has an extensive career in theater, film and television. She makes The WB her new home as the tough and plainspoken nurse, Edna Harper, in Everwood.

As a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Mooney played Blanche Dubois in the classic play A Streetcar Named Desire. The play's author, Tennessee Williams, made a surprise visit to Minneapolis to attend the performance and decided that not only should Mooney move to New York, saying, Honey, we need you there, but that she was his favorite Blanche. In writing about her in The New York Times, Williams said, "I have recently seen Blanche played with great wit and pathos by a young actress named Debra Mooney at the University of Minnesota. She made me howl with laughter at my own work."

Her additional Broadway performances include The Price with Eli Wallach, the female version of The Odd Couple with Sally Struthers and Brenda Vacarro, and Talley's Folley with Judd Hirsch. She also appeared opposite Dustin Hoffman as Linda Loman in the critically acclaimed Death of a Salesman. Most recently, Mooney played Mary Phillips in Michael Chepiga's Getting and Spending, a timely play about insider trading.

movies, Mooney was featured in Dead Poets Society, Domestic Disturbance, Napoleon, Chapter Two, and Tootsie, again working with Hoffman. Mooney fondly recalls a memorable scene with Hoffman when she caught him off-guard with her improvised line, I can't act with this, which made it into the movie's final cut. Mooney's television credits include a regular role in Davis Rules starring Randy Quaid and Jonathan Winters, and recurring roles on Roseanne and The Practice. For the latter, she recently completed production on an episode for this season in which she reprises her recurring role as Judge Spindle alongside guest star Sharon Stone. She has guest-starred on the top-rated comedies Everybody Loves Raymond, Will and Grace, Just Shoot Me, Seinfeld, Mad About You, and Murphy Brown.

Mooney resides in Los Angeles with her husband, Porter Van Zandt, a well-known stage producer/director, and daughter, Kirstin, who is currently working in the art department for the film, The Hulk. Even Mooney's cats - Sagamore, who has appeared in commercials, and Lydia, who has a book written on her behalf called Lydia Mewses - are in the business.

While on the set in Utah, Mooney hopes to try snowshoeing and spend more time on the motorcycle her character rides around town in the series. She also enjoys playing the piano and cross-stitching.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2003.

Debra Mooney Facts

OccupationActress
BirthdayAugust 28, 1947 (76)
SignVirgo
BirthplaceEllendale, North Dakota, USA

Selected Filmography

Not available.