Debra Messing @Debramessing

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA ❤️ What a packed and beautiful trip. I cannot believe it’s been 20 years since I filmed The Starter Wife and spent Christmas in Sydney. It’s just as breathtaking as I remembered. I spoke in front of 1600 people (😳) at an event hosted by JCA. It was a thoughtful discussion with Sharri Markson, a widely venerated investigative journalist from Sky News Australia. It was a somber evening with the community still reeling from the Massacre at Bondi Beach Dec 14. I found this community small but mighty. The amount of support services being provided for the survivors is widespread and long term. There is a real sense that we all are responsible for one another. It was very moving. I ran to meet @Erin_Molan and Marnie Pearlstein 2 inspirational fierce women I have come to know and admire through DM chats. it was so exciting to hug them both and feel the world shrink right before my eyes. This all while the Vivid Festival was going on. An annual festival that transforms the city with light installations, music, light shows, live performances and events with creative thinkers that runs for several weeks. I was treated to a boat ride in the Bay at night, and the sky was exploding in colors. It was a great group of people and I can only imagine was New Year’s Eve is like! And - of course- I went to Bondi Beach to say a prayer and pay my respects. The Mayor filled in all the missing details of that horrible day and was very patient with my questions. There is a beautiful memorial, and an art exhibit by local artists using paint, sculpture, photography to honor those lost. My farewell was met with the most gorgeous dawn. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a hotel suite with a more magical view. Until next time, mate. 💙

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Look Mom, I’m a Doctor! I know she’s up there smiling. Thank you Jewish Theological Seminary - an affiliate of Columbia and Barnard- for this incredibly meaningful honor. A Doctorate of Humane Letters What is that?! You say? I asked the same thing. It is an honor given by a university awarded to those who distinguish themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. Of course it is hard to justify in my mind deserving this. This honor is shared with the creators of W & G, @MaxMutchnick and David Kohan, for writing a character who embodied the breadth and depth of a real Jewish woman. Without use of tropes and stereotypes, they celebrated her humanity and sense of humor, which made countless Jewish women feel represented and seen on prime time tv. This, while doing the same for its Gay characters:the beloved Will and Jack. We didn’t start the show with the intent to help change society’s biases and prejudices, but the brilliant writers found a way to always make people laugh, and ultimately to fall in love and accept characters who were different than the norm. Being a part of the show is the thing I am most proud of, professionally. So, yeah, I’m going to make everyone call me Doctor now. 😉🤣🥰

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Sometimes you just have to run away… I have been open about the struggles I’ve had, like all of you, with the hate and violence seen across the globe. Feeling impotent. Heartbroken. Enraged. Overwhelmed. And, the feeling that the city I love is on fire had left me despondent. I realized I needed to reset. The majesty of Nature is always the answer for me. So, I went to Iceland. Alone. And it was transformational. I knew seeing the Northern Lights would wake me up and remind me of the the Awesomeness of the Universe. The vast unknowable Design. And It brought me back to life.

Today is the anniversary of my mom’s passing. It always feels like there is a hole in my heart, and the sadness is familiar. Today is also Passover. It has always been my family’s favorite holiday. It is a celebration of the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt, and the long exodus back home to Jerusalem. It is a holiday that celebrates freedom over oppression & persecution. It is a celebration of the decolonization of our ancestral homeland after years in exile, but never without hope and faith. We gather not only to commemorate this particular event, but every single time over 3000 years that we have been banished, persecuted, murdered, burned alive, by people who refused to acknowledge our humanity and peoplehood, who blamed us for every ill in the world—- and, each time, with resilience and light, we survived. And moving forward, thrived. This has happened continually, through every human advancement, the ancient hate and attempted erasure of our People. That is why every Passover Seder ends with the final words of the Hagaddah prayer book, with us reading —“Next year in Jerusalem.” Because for 3000 years we never stopped fighting to return home to Jerusalem. Whether we were enslaved in Egypt, or as a non citizen dimmi facing yet another pogrum. Today is particularly painful. To see history repeating itself, the demonization, the dehumanization, the thirst for Jewish blood. May we all pray for all the innocent civilians in this horrendous war. May this year see the Iranian people freed from their decades long struggle against oppression, torture, murder, stripping of human rights for all women and people not afraid to love who they love. Even in the face of death. May the US soldiers be kept safe as they bravely fight alongside the IDF to finally bring peace to the entire Middle East. Like Pharoah, may the IRGC, become just a footnote in history. What a celebration that will be. BH. Happy Passover from Elsie and me. She is helping me make my mother’s Charoset. And yes, it is the best in the world. All my love, D

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The 90s… from college to Will & Grace. What a ride.

Today is my beautiful Mom’s heavenly birthday. I miss her everyday. Today is hard. The sadness never wanes. I look at old pictures of us and realize I laughed the hardest with her. I’ve never laughed that hard since. I laugh. I love to laugh. It’s medicine. But seeing that one woman who made me laughed the hardest makes me realize that she was pure Magic. I didn’t recognize it while she was here. That’s something that is painful to acknowledge and accept.. My relationship with her is different now, but just as powerful. I talk to her constantly. I feel her with me. My love for her is still physical. That is a gift. Happy Birthday Mom. You are and will forever be Everything.

@VividProwess ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

Me entering the YEAR of the HORSE🔥

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! Kissing is one of my all time favorite things to do. One of the greatest things about W&G is we kissed CONSTANTLY. I honestly couldn’t even begin to guess how many potential boyfriends Grace kissed but it was A LOT. The cast, the guest stars, everybody got to kiss! So in honor of ❤️ Day, here’s a mash up of just the tip of the iceberg. Go out and kiss somebody!💕💕💕💕💕

I did it! I made a hat! #knitter (maybe)

Well it’s close to Valentine’s Day and I was thinking about Jennifer Fisher Jewelry’s perfect puffed heart earrings and it reminded me that I never posted pictures from my #AltoKnights press tour in her STUNNING necklace! So better late than never! Thank you Jennifer!❤️

Sitting in a taxi trying to get to an appointment. Should take 20 minutes, we are at an hour and ten minutes and counting. The streets are a disaster. It hasn’t snowed in 5 days and the streets still haven’t been cleared. Poor ambulance sitting in aessentially a parking lot with sirens going. I’m praying for the person needing emergency care. I’ve lived here for 15 years (this go around) and this has never happened. The plows have always worked around the clock to get the city back to working. I wonder what happened? 😏 Hang in there New Yorkers.

Sometimes, during dark days, the only thing that helps (at least temporarily) is a walk and a kiss from my pup.

There is much to mourn today—may the memory of all those murdered in Bondi Beach Australia at a Hanukkah family celebration, and at Brown University—be a blessing. The normalizing of murdering Jews worldwide is a failure of the Western World. Today we celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah. The Syrian-Greek army under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BCE destroyed and desecrated the Second Temple in Jerusalem. It was filled with pagan gods and it was decreed that all Jews had to convert, giving up their religious observance, traditions, language, etc. A tiny resistance militia led by Judah Maccabee fought back and vanquished the conquering army - restoring Jewish worship in Jerusalem and the Second Temple. That is the miracle of Hanukkah. Yes, the oil that was only supposed to last 1 night lasted 8 which is why we light 8 candles over 8 nights, but the true miracle is that once again, the Jews completely outnumbered by the invading army, prevailed. They survived. They shouldn’t have. But they did. That is what we carry with us. The light will always cut through the darkness. Be the light. ✨

…and I just woke up. Happy Thanksgiving!

@HillelNeuer ❤️ ❤️ ❤️