At 67 years old, Debra Winger remains beautiful and will always be remembered for her performances in the 1980s.

Fans around the world wished they could be the stunning Debra Winger when Naval Officer Zack Mayo swept factory worker Paula off her feet in a timeless love story.

The iconic scene from the romantic classic “An Officer and a Gentleman,” where Richard Gere played Officer Zack Mayo, the dashing hero in navy whites, became the gold standard for love stories for daydreaming viewers.

Debra Winger was the envy of many because she had the opportunity to work with some of Hollywood’s most attractive men.
Winger, who is now 67, is still gorgeous. She has been posting photos of herself on Instagram over the past few years. The earliest photos show her with brown hair, and the most recent ones display her natural wavy gray hair.

Winger made her acting debut in 1976’s “Slumber Party ’57” as Drusilla, the younger sister of Lynda Carter’s Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. This led to a role in the well-known TV show “Wonder Woman” (1979). Winger declined an offer to make more frequent appearances because she thought her role would stereotype her.

That decision came with no regrets, as the rising star found success in the early 1980s.
While her career was at its peak, she received numerous Academy and Golden Globe nominations for her roles in three important 1980s films.

In 1980, she co-starred with John Travolta in the film “Urban Cowboy”. At that time, he was dazzling audiences with his smooth dance moves in movies like “Saturday Night Fever” (1977) and “Grease” (1978). She also starred in “Terms of Endearment” (1983) as Emma, a young woman with a domineering mother, Aurora, played by Shirley MacLaine, and “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1982) as Paula.

Despite her incredible success, Winger took a brief break from acting, and even today, more than 40 years after she rose to fame, there are still many rumors about why she did.

These rumors often focus on disputes between Winger and her co-stars.

Although fans couldn’t get enough of him, it is generally believed that Winger had had enough of the handsome Gere on set.
Co-star Louis Gossett Jr., who played Sgt. Emil Foley, claims in an excerpt from his book “An Actor and a Gentleman” featured on ABC News: “The onscreen chemistry between the two of them was tremendous, but it was a different story once the camera was turned off. They were kept as far apart as possible from one another.”

Gossett also claims that Winger dismissed Gere’s performance, once referring to him in writing as “a brick wall.” Additionally, she called Taylor Hackford, the film’s director, an “animal.”

Not just the movie’s characters had offended her.

A free spirit both in real life and in her role as Emma, Winger clashed with the successful MacLaine, a glamorous, eccentric, and seasoned veteran.

Their relationship foundation was laid during their first meeting.
According to MacLaine, who spoke about this in an interview with People, “I was wearing all my leftover movie-star fur coats to see how my character would feel. I had an ‘Oh my goodness’ moment when I saw Debra walking in a miniskirt and combat boots.”

The scene indeed became the source of some of Hollywood’s most cherished rumors, according to People. Winger wanted to be in the spotlight. Reports state that one struck the other.

The women were then pitted against each other when both were Oscar nominees for Best Actress.
“I deserve this,” MacLaine said in her acceptance speech after winning the award.

Winger insists she “pushed the pause button” on Hollywood for personal, not professional, reasons, despite rumors to the contrary.
“I wasn’t interested in the roles that were going to be available. Either I had done it before or I felt it before. I needed a challenge. I fully immersed myself in my life because it challenged me more than the roles did,” Winger told People.

After starring alongside Billy Crystal in the 1995 comedy-drama “Forget Paris,” Winger took a six-year hiatus.
During that time, she moved to New York City and focused on marrying actor Arliss Howard in 1996. She has a son named Gideon Babe with Howard; Sam, Howard’s child from a previous marriage, is her stepson. Sam was born in 1997. She also raised Noah Hutton, her second biological child, from 1986 to 1990 while she was married to her first husband, Timothy Hutton.

The 2001 film “Big Bad Love” was directed and produced by her husband, who also appeared in it alongside Winger and Rosanna Arquette. Next came “Searching for Debra Winger,” which she produced and directed. Arquette, who is the film’s director, tries to shed light on Winger’s decision to briefly leave her field at its peak.

Winger gained a great deal of fame for her roles in “The Lovers” (2017), “Rachel Getting Married” (2008), and “Kajillionaire” (2020). Anne Hathaway portrayed Rachel in “Rachel Getting Married.”

She appeared in the segment titled “Her Own” of the 2021 anthological drama film “With/In, Volume 2.” The scene was written and directed by her husband, who also appears in the film.

“Hollywood is completely unknown to me. Now I just laugh and look at the sign since I live beneath it. Hollywood is a place, but I don’t really think of it as such. But there must be some in-crowds that I just don’t know about,” Winger said.

What are your favorite Debra Winger movies?
We can’t imagine Hollywood without Debra Winger, and we hope she soon gets to walk away with an Oscar.