Debbie Reynolds

Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (1 April 1932 – 28 December 2016) was an American actress, singer, businesswoman, film historian, and humanitarian. She was the mother of actress and writer Carrie Fisher.

Quotes

 * I do a lot of things wrong. I lose my temper, and I hate waiting in line, but do I take drugs? No. Do I run around deploring the world? No. I'm just not into it. I was brought up that way.
 * As cited by Tinkerbelle (Jeri Lee Veronica Visser) in with Debbie and Tinker", Interview magazine (September 1976)


 * Thank you to everyone who has embraced the gifts and talents of my beloved and amazing daughter. I am grateful for your thoughts and prayers that are now guiding her to her next stop. Love Carries Mother
 * Facebook post (December 27, 2016)


 * I miss her so much, I want to be with Carrie.
 * Statement to her son, Todd Fisher, a few hours before her death, as reported in "Debbie Reynolds' Last Words: 'I Want to Be with Carrie,' Son Says" by Alexia Fernandez, in People magazine (29 December 2016)


 * I'm not as intellectual as my daughter. She says bigger words than I … I don't even know what they mean ... But she's so amusing to me and it's wonderful to be around her.
 * As cited in Mike Miller "How Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher Reconciled After a Turbulent Past", People (December 29, 2016)


 * Old age is a wonderful time of life ... At least, that's what everyone tells you. But let me tell you: it is not true. What's true is that your hips, knees and ankles gradually give up on you – everything is quite dreadful, really. And it was a terrible thing to have told us...because we believed it.
 * On the lie of growing old gracefully, as cited in "Debbie Reynolds interview: movies, failed marriages, and why a woman should be 'like a treasure chest'", The Telegraph (December 29, 2016)


 * What Gene taught me was tremendous discipline and never give up and you're never good enough ... He believed that I could do it, but I never danced before Singin' in the Rain, and I had to learn to dance. Months I was locked in a soundstage to get me — never equal — but up at least to cut the role.
 * On the lessons she learned from costar Gene Kelly, as cited in "FLASHBACK: Debbie Reynolds Recalls Poor Upbringing and How Gene Kelly Helped Her Career in Early ET Interviews", ET Online (December 29, 2016)


 * I just think my life's been really blessed, because being in show business I've met wonderful people and I've traveled all over the world ... I ain't down yet, and I've had a wonderful life, and I still have more life to go.
 * On being in show business, as cited in "FLASHBACK: Debbie Reynolds Recalls Poor Upbringing and How Gene Kelly Helped Her Career in Early ET Interviews", ET Online (December 29, 2016)


 * I don't think you can ever be bitter about anything, because if you don't allow your heart to stay open, then all you have is a filled heart of hate and bitterness, and you're never able to love or like anybody.
 * On staying optimistic, as cited in "FLASHBACK: Debbie Reynolds Recalls Poor Upbringing and How Gene Kelly Helped Her Career in Early ET Interviews", ET Online (December 29, 2016)

Unsinkable : A Memoir (2013)


These are my recollections. If you remember things differently, send me your version — but only if it's funnier.
 * I was a simple kid who was thrown into the wonderful world of show business. I've loved every moment.
 * Preface


 * What do you do do when your heart says one thing and your head, and your lawyer, says another? I was a romantic. I put my whole heart on the line when I love someone. ... I don't think like a thief so I never see this quality in others until it's too late.
 * Chapter 16. Bottoming Out in Beverley Hills


 * Faith is a powerful thing to have in your repertory. ... Certainly, I'd felt despair, sometimes so much that I thought it would be easier to die. But my family and my faith have sustained me until, when I least expected it, life picked me up again.
 * Chapter 18. Family and Faith