Debra Winger (born May 16, 1955) is an American actress. Born in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, she spent several years in Israel, and served in the Israeli Armed Forces. After returning to the United States, she was involved in an automobile accident which left her temporarily paralyzed and blind in one eye. With time on her hands to think about her life, she decided that, if she recovered, she would move to California and become an actress.
Her first acting role was as Princess Diana's younger sister Drusilla in the Wonder Woman television series. She got her first starring role in Urban Cowboy in 1980, opposite John Travolta. In 1982 she starred opposite Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Terms of Endearment in 1984 and Best Actress for Shadowlands in 1993.
Other films include Made in Heaven, Everybody Wins, The Sheltering Sky, Leap of Faith, Black Widow, Wilder Napalm and A Dangerous Woman.
She has been married to actors Timothy Hutton and Arliss Howard.