When Alexandra’s stepmother, Linda, showed up at her wedding in a white dress, demanding attention, Alexandra knew drama was coming. However, her husband Tom had a clever plan to shift the focus back to the special day. Linda was busy arranging flowers for the wedding, insisting that everything needed to be perfect. Alexandra watched from the dining table, sipping tea and trying to stay calm, while her father praised Linda’s skills.
Linda entered Alexandra’s life when she was ten, after her mother passed away. Since then, she had always enjoyed being the center of attention. As she fussed over the flowers with dramatic flair, Alexandra couldn’t help but worry about what Linda might do at the wedding. Despite her excitement about the big day, Alexandra felt anxious about Linda stealing the spotlight, just like she had on past birthdays and holidays. Trying to distract herself, she asked her dad about the wedding, but Linda quickly jumped in, reminding everyone how important this day was.
As Alexandra met her best friend Sarah at the wedding planner’s office, she revealed her worries. Sarah, noticing Alexandra’s distress, reassured her that everything would be fine. However, the planner, Grace, informed them that Linda insisted on sitting in the front row and giving a speech. This was not traditional, as those spots were usually reserved for the bride’s parents. Alexandra felt frustration bubbling up, knowing Linda would make the day about herself. They discussed ways to address the situation, including having someone else give a speech in honor of Alexandra’s mother.
After meeting with Grace, Alexandra returned home to share her concerns with Tom. She expressed her fear that Linda would overshadow the wedding. Tom comforted her, assuring her they would handle it together. On the wedding day, while preparing, Sarah rushed in, pale and panicked, to tell Alexandra that Linda had arrived in a full-length white wedding dress. Alexandra was furious and confronted Linda, who unapologetically claimed it was her moment to shine.
Tom urged Alexandra to trust him, and the ceremony began with Linda sitting in the front row, soaking up the attention. As Alexandra tried to focus on her vows, she couldn’t ignore Linda’s smug expression. When it was time for speeches, Alexandra felt tense. Just as Linda stood to speak, Tom took the microphone and presented a video tribute to Alexandra’s late mother. The room filled with heartfelt memories, and Linda’s confidence began to fade.
After the tribute, Tom invited Linda on stage, claiming they wanted to celebrate her too. But as he played a slideshow, it quickly turned embarrassing for Linda. It included footage of her sneaking into Alexandra’s bridal suite earlier, trying on her veil and twirling with the bouquet. The crowd gasped, and then Tom played a recording of Linda on the phone, bragging about her plan to outshine Alexandra. Shocked murmurs filled the room, and Linda’s face turned crimson.
Tom then introduced Linda’s ex-husband, who shared stories of her past antics. Humiliated, Linda slipped out of the hall as Tom and Alexandra exchanged knowing smiles. They had turned the day back to what it was meant to be, a celebration of love and memory, not about Linda. Have you ever had to stand up to someone at your wedding?
Dеbrа Wingеr, whоsе реrfоrmаnсеs in thе 1980’s аrе еtсhеd in оur hеаrts, is stunning аt 67
In a timeless tale of romance, Naval Officer Zack Mayo swept factory worker Paula into his arms and carried her from her workplace, leaving fans everywhere wishing they were the beautiful Debra Winger.
The legendary scene in the romantic drama an Officer and a Gentleman–where Richard Gere played Officer Zack Mayo, the handsome hero in navy whites–became the benchmark of love stories for daydreaming fans.
Acting alongside Hollywood’s hottest men, Debra Winger was the envy of many.
Today, Winger, 67, is as beautiful as ever. In the past few years, Winger has posted photos herself on Instagram, first with brown hair and now to a natural wavy gray.
Winger’s first starring role was in the 1976 film Slumber Party ‘57, which led to a part on the hit TV series Wonder Woman (1979), where she played Drusilla, the younger sister to Lynda Carter’s Diana Prince/Wonder Woman. Winger was asked to appear more often but concerned she’d be typecast by that role, she declined.
There were no regrets for that decision, the early ‘80s would be prosperous for the rising star.
At the height of her young career, she received numerous nods from the Academy and Golden Globes for performances in three iconic movies of the 1980’s.
In 1980, she starred in Urban Cowboy, with John Travolta, who at the time was driving fans wild with his smooth dance moves in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1988); as Paula in an Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and in Terms of Endearment (1983), where she played Emma, a dying young woman with an over-bearing mother, Aurora, played by Shirley MacLaine.
Despite her huge success, Winger, carving hours from her acting schedule, took a mini Hollywood hiatus, and more than four decades after her rise to stardom, speculation of why she left is still circulating.
Most of these rumours revolve around the feuds that Winger had with her co-stars.
Though fans couldn’t get enough of the handsome Gere, it’s been widely reported that Winger had enough of him on the set.
According to an excerpt published on ABC News from the book, “An Actor and a Gentleman,” by co-star, Louis Gossett Jr., who played Sgt. Emil Foley: “The onscreen chemistry between the two of them was terrific, but it was a different story once the camera was turned off. They couldn’t have stayed farther apart from each other.”
Gossett also claims that Winger didn’t think much of Gere’s acting and wrote that she once described Gere as “a brick wall.” And, the film’s director, Taylor Hackford, whom she also did not likе, she referred to as “animal.”
It wasn’t only people on that film that ruffled her feathers.
Winger, a free spirit in real life and in her role as Emma, also clashed with the prolific MacLaine, a glamourous, eccentric and seasoned veteran.
Their first meeting set the stage for their relationship.
“To see how my character would feel I was wearing all my leftover movie-star fur coats,” MacLaine said in an interview with People. “There was Debra dressed in combat boots and a miniskirt…I thought, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
People writes, “Indeed, the set became the source of Hollywood’s most relished rumors. Winger wanted top billing. One reportedly slugged the other.”
And then, the women were pitted against each other in the Oscars when they were both nominated for best actress.
MacLaine, taking the trophy home, said in her acceptance speech, “I deserve this!”
Rumors aside, Winger insists she “pushed the pause button” on Hollywood for personal reasons and not professional.
“The parts that were coming, I wasn’t interested in. I’d already done that or I’d already felt that. I needed to be challenged. My life challenged me more than the parts, so I dove into it fully,” Winger told People.
After starring in the 1995 romcom Forget Paris with Billy Crystal, Winger took a six-year break.
In that time, she moved to New York City and shifted her focus to actor Arliss Howard, whom she married in 1996. The pair have a son, Gideon Babe, who was born in 1997, and she is stepmother to Sam, Howard’s son from a previous marriage. She also has another biological child, Noah Hutton, whom she mothered while married to her first husband, Timothy Hutton (1986 to 1990).
She reappeared in the 2001 film Big Bad Love, that was directed and produced by her husband, who also co-starred alongside Winger and Rosanna Arquette, who’s next project was 2002 film Searching for Debra Winger. As director of the documentary, Arquette attempts to answer why Winger temporarily аbаndоned her career at peak performance.
Winger gained some momentum with roles in Rachel Getting Married (2008) with Anne Hathaway, the 2017 romcom The Lovers, and the crime-comedy, Kajillionaire (2020).
In 2021, she was in With/In, Volume two of the anthological drama film, in the segment Her Own, which is written and directed by her husband, who also co-stars.
“I don’t know what Hollywood is. I’m living under the freaking sign now, and I just stare at it and laugh. Los Angeles is a place, but the idea of Hollywood doesn’t really exist for me,” Winger said, adding, “…although there must be some in-crowds that I just don’t know about.”
We can’t imagine a Hollywood without Debra Winger and we hope she soon gets to take home an Academy Award ! What are your favorite Winger movies?
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