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Mary Frances Reynolds (born April 1, 1932) is an American actress, singer, and dancer and mother of actress/author Carrie Fisher.

In 1948, Lockheed Aircraft sponsored the local "Miss Burbank" beauty pageant; Mary Frances entered and won. She was sixteen, and her talent entry was lip-syncing to a record of Betty Hutton's I'm a Square in the Social Circle. Two of the judges of the pageant were talent scouts from Warner Brother's and MGM. Both scouts perceived the young girl's potential. The Warner Bros. Scout won a coin toss which gave him first chance to offer Mary Frances a screen test. The result was so impressive that she was signed to a contract which paid $65 a week. Jack Warner changed her name to Debbie. It was suggested that her last name be changed to Morgan, but she adamantly refused.

Debbie Reynolds regularly appeared in movie musicals during the 1950s and had several hit records during the period. Her song Aba Daba Honeymoon (featured in the 1950 film Two Weeks with Love) was a hit in 1951. Her most high-profile film role was in Singin' in the Rain (1952). In Bundle of Joy (1956) she appeared with her then-husband, Eddie Fisher.

Her recording of the song Tammy (from her 1957 film Tammy and the Bachelor) earned her a gold record, and was the best-selling single by a female vocalist in 1957. It was number one for five weeks on the Billboard pop charts. In the movie (the first of the Tammy film series), she co-starred with Leslie Nielsen.

Her starring role in The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964) led to a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. She then portrayed Jeanine Deckers in The “Singing Nun” (1966).


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