Debi Mazar
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
ABC publicity for "Civil Wars" (1992-93) listed Ms. Mazar's birthdate as August 13; however, most other sources list August 15.
On her career as a makeup artist, Mazar told Vanity Fair (November 1993): "Just being able to paint and watch these people transform in to these divas ... I just knew that eventually it was going to be my turn."
Biography
A character actress known for feisty and heavily accented New York roles, Debi Mazar's career began with a strong supporting role as a drug-hungry Mafia girlfriend in Martin Scorsese's landmark film, "GoodFellas" (1990). She went on to lend a sassy, proletarian spark to low budget indies like Steve Buscemi's "Trees Lounge" (1996), family films like "Beethoven's 2nd" (1993), as well as occasional mainstream hits like "Batman Forever" (1995) and "The Insider" (1999). Mazar's vampy charm figured prominently in a number of short-lived, working class sitcoms, but the actress found steady small screen success as one of the premiere denizens of the red carpet as well as on HBO's acclaimed drama, "Entourage" (HBO, 2004-11), where her take on a savvy, fast-talking Hollywood publicist marked an end to her street-tough typecasting and led to a wider range of opportunities. After that series ended, Mazar transitioned gracefully into older roles in series like Manhattan comedy-drama "Younger" (TV Land 2015- ) and the dark comedy-drama "Happy!" (Syfy 2017- ), as well as films including "Lovelace" (2013) and "The Only Living Boy in New York" (2017).
Debi Mazar was born to Latvian parents on Aug. 13, 1964, and raised mainly by her mother on Manhattan's Lower East Side. She was living on her own by the time she was 15, making a name for herself in the downtown club scene of the early 1980s for her flamboyant personal style, not to mention her BFF status with the then up-and-comer Madonna. Mazar became a successful makeup artist in her early 20s, frequently "painting" her friend Madonna for stage and video productions. Their friendship led to Mazar's appearances in a number of the Material Girl's videos including "True Blue," and sparked her own interest in acting. After a few years of drama training, Mazar made the career leap from behind-the-scenes to scene-stealing supporting roles with Martin Scorsese's classic mob drama "GoodFellas" (1990), where she played the coke-snorting girlfriend of married underworld wheeler-dealer Henry Hill (Ray Liotta).
Minor roles in Oliver Stone's "The Doors" (1991), Spike Lee's "Jungle Fever" (1991) and Jodie Foster's "Little Man Tate" (1991) followed before Mazar garnered attention for playing tough-talking legal secretary Denise Iannello on the ABC divorce law drama, "Civil Wars" (1991-93). During her run on the series, she maintained a toehold in independent film with supporting roles in Alexandre Rockwell's "In the Soup" (1992), Cameron Crowe's "Singles" (1992), and Lee's "Malcolm X" (1992). Upon the cancellation of "Civil Wars" in 1993, Mazar enjoyed the unusual opportunity to jump networks and reprise her character on NBC's colossal hit, "L.A. Law" (NBC, 1986-1994), where she spent the 1993-94 television season. She went on to take the leading role opposite John Cusack in the blue collar comedy "Money For Nothing" (1993) and her outsize personality was well-suited to exaggerated family films "Toys" (1992) and "Beethoven's 2nd" (1993), where she offered a deliciously vivid performance as a villainous dog owner.
Mazar paired with Joan Cusack again in the working class comedy, "Money for Nothing" (1993) and shared the screen with Drew Barrymore as fellow criminal molls in Joel Schumacher's blockbuster "Batman Forever" (1995), with Mazar the spice to Barrymore's sugar. However, independent filmmakers began employing her more steadily; she appeared as a phone sex operator in Spike Lee's "Girl 6" (1996), played a flirtatious working class barfly in Steve Buscemi's "Trees Lounge" (1996), and took the lead (alongside Dennis Hopper and Stephen Dorff) in the sci-fi comedy, "Space Truckers" (1997). Returning to the small screen, Mazar starred in the short-lived sitcom "Temporarily Yours" (CBS, 1997) as a temp-for-hire that frequently finds herself in absurd situations. Despite Mazar's proletarian charm and knack for physical humor, the underdeveloped show failed to click with audiences. That same year, Mazar had supporting roles in Nick Cassavetes' drama "She's So Lovely" (1997) and the Rodney Dangerfield flop "Meet Wally Sparks" (1997), a comedy seeking to bank on the trend of outrageous daytime talk show personalities.
Following supporting roles in TV movie dramas "Oprah Winfrey Presents: David and Lisa" (ABC, 1998) and the fact-based "Witness to the Mob" (NBC, 1998), where she offered a strong portrait of the wife of a gangster, Mazar was cast in the revamped second season of the NBC sitcom, "Working" (NBC, 1997-99), though her addition as a sharp-tongued office employee was not enough to save the flagging series. Regardless of any failed projects, Mazar was making a name for herself in a different way. With her dark hair and crimson-painted lips, the actress stood out from other fashionistas on the red carpet, due in large part to her unique, vintage style. She was frequently singled out for a look all her own that combined retro hairstyles, makeup and jewelry with modern frocks. Back on screen, Mazar appeared in the Academy Award-nominated tobacco industry expose "The Insider" (1999) and her streetwise persona was again tapped for the mob heist "More Dogs than Bones" (2000) and the CBS series "That's Life" (CBS, 2000-02), where she spent two seasons playing wisecracking, advice-dispensing hair salon owner Jackie O'Grady. Off-screen, Mazar married Italian musician Gabriele Corcos and gave birth to her first child in 2002. Splitting her time between homes in New York and Tuscany limited Mazar's screen work over the next few years to guest spots on "Friends" (NBC, 1994-2004), "7th Heaven" (WB, 1996-2006; The CW, 2006-07), and "The Practice" (ABC, 1997-2004).
From a recurring role on the Will Smith/Jada Pinkett Smith-created sitcom "All of Us" (UPN, 2003-06; The CW, 2006-07), Mazar went on to find a regular TV role perfectly suited to her honking "New Yawk" attitude - as the outspoken Hollywood publicist Shauna in the freewheeling HBO comedy, "Entourage" (2004-11). Meanwhile, she spiced up small roles in films such as "Collateral" (2004) and "Be Cool" (2004) and held down a recurring role on the short-lived Fran Drescher sitcom, "Living with Fran" (2005-06). Mazar appeared in the female ensemble cast of the unsuccessful remake of "The Women" (2008) and enjoyed a recurring role on ABC's hit "Ugly Betty" (ABC, 2006-10). When her schedule allowed her to spend time at her Italian home with her husband and family, Mazar produced an Internet cooking show called "Under the Tuscan Gun." Mazar returned for a fifth season on "Entourage" in the fall of 2009, concurrently appearing as a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" (ABC, 2005- ). After "Entourage" came to an end, Mazar co-starred in the cooking series "Extra Virgin" (Cooking 2011-15) before returning to full-time series work as Sutton Foster's sardonic best friend in the comedy-drama "Younger" (TV Land 2015- ). During this period, she also appeared in the biographical drama "Lovelace" (2013),s, silent film homage "Return to Babylon" (2013), and Peter Bogdanovich's romantic comedy "She's Funny That Way" (2014). After appearing in the film version of "Entourage" (2015), Mazar appeared in the drama "The Only Living Boy in New York" (2017) and Woody Allen's period piece "Wonder Wheel" (2017). While continuing her work on "Younger," Mazar began a recurring role on the Patton Oswalt-led black comedy "Happy!" (Syfy 2017- ).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1985
Began taking acting lessons
1986
Appeared in Madonna's music videos, "Papa Don't Preach" and "True Blue"
1990
Made acting debut in "GoodFellas" as Ray Liotta's coked-up girlfriend
1991
Played Annabella Sciorra's Brooklyn buddy in "Jungle Fever"; first film with director Spike Lee
1991
Debuted as a series regular on ABC's "Civil Wars" as Denise, the big-haired legal secretary
1992
Re-teamed with Spike Lee for the biopic, "Malcolm X"
1993
Made feature leading role debut, opposite John Cusack, in "Money for Nothing"
1993
Had a memorable role as a villainous dog owner in "Beethoven's 2nd"
1993
Reprised the role of Denise on NBC's "L.A. Law"
1994
Had a small role in Woody Allen's "Bullets Over Broadway"
1995
Played Spice, the 'bad' henchwoman of Two-Face, opposite Drew Barrymore as Sugar, in "Batman Forever"
1996
Played a transsexual in "Things I Never Told You"
1996
Appeared briefly in Spike Lee's "Girl 6"
1997
Joined an ensemble cast for Gregg Araki's "Nowhere"
1997
Played the lead in the short-lived CBS sitcom "Temporarily Yours"
1998
Joined cast of the NBC sitcom "Working"
1999
Had a memorable role as an ambitiously murderous actress in "Frogs for Snakes"
1999
Played an associate producer of "60 Minutes" in Michael Mann's "The Insider"
2000
Co-starred in the CBS series, "That's Life," as a hairdresser and best pal to the show's lead
2000
Featured in Madonna's music video, "Music"
2002
Had a memorable role on NBC's "Friends" a crazed pregnant woman who shares a hospital room with Rachel
2002
Co-starred with Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt in "The Tuxedo"
2003
Had a recurring role on UPN's "All of Us"
2004
Cast in a recurring role as Vince's publicist, in HBO's "Entourage"; became a regular cast member in season two (2005)
2004
Re-teamed with director Michael Mann for "Collateral"
2005
Had a recurring role on the WB's "Living with Fran" as Fran Drescher's character's cousin
2006
Appeared in several episodes of ABC's "Ugly Betty" as Leah Stillman, a scam artist who claims to be a lawyer
2008
Joined an ensemble cast for the remake of the 1939 film, "The Women"
2009
Joined the ninth season of ABC's reality series "Dancing with the Stars" as a contestant
2011
Voiced the role of Babs on the animated comedy "Good Vibes"
2013
Nabbed a supporting role in the biographical drama "Lovelace"
2015
Reprised her role as Shuana in the film version of "Entourage"
2015
Landed a supporting role as Maggie on the TV series "Younger"
2017
Began playing Isabella Scaramucci on crime comedy "Happy!"
2018
Cast as Ava Gardner on drama series "Arde Madrid"
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
ABC publicity for "Civil Wars" (1992-93) listed Ms. Mazar's birthdate as August 13; however, most other sources list August 15.
On her career as a makeup artist, Mazar told Vanity Fair (November 1993): "Just being able to paint and watch these people transform in to these divas ... I just knew that eventually it was going to be my turn."
"I have this fear of coming across as a Barbie doll who got lucky. Style is a big part of who I am, but's not WHO I am. Ya know?"---Mazar quoted in Entertainment Weekly, May 3, 1993.
"I think too much publicity is bad publicity. Actors talk too much. They get nervous, and don't know what they're saying. I don't want to hear about their sex lives and their process. That's boring. I think actors should have some mystery."---Mazar quoted in Venice, June, 2005.
