The Persona. The Person: Debbie Reynolds in Las Vegas ran from September 5 - October 26 2023 - Free Exhibition - Grand Gallery at Las Vegas City Hall
Actress, comedienne, singer, dancer, and businesswoman Debbie Reynolds was born Mary Frances Reynolds in 1932 to a working-class family in El Paso, Texas. Her family relocated to California in 1939, where she would later be discovered competing in a beauty contest at just sixteen years old. Debbie was offered a studio contract and went on to make history both on-screen and onstage, kick starting her lifelong film career in the 1952 film Singin’ in the Rain.
In The Person, The Persona: Debbie Reynolds in Las Vegas, we join Debbie in 1962, still caught in the media spotlight following her divorce from husband Eddie Fisher and his highly-publicized love affair with actress Elizabeth Taylor in 1959. Now, married again, and wishing to spend more time with her two children, Carrie and Todd Fisher, she moves to Las Vegas to begin her million-dollar residency at the Riviera Hotel and Casino. She looks to Las Vegas to provide stability in her life, both personally and professionally, as she establishes herself not only as one of Las Vegas’ most enduring personalities, but also as a multi-talented entertainer. This leads Hollywood to consider her for different roles, casting her as ‘Molly’ in The Unsinkable Molly Brown, based on a real-life tale of resilience that Debbie felt paralleled her own rags-to-riches life. Her performance in the film earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
This exhibition weaves together two stories: one of Debbie’s professional career, highlighting her performances, collaborations, and unique rapport with her audiences, and one of Debbie’s personal life, featuring the love she had for her family, her enduring friendships, and her “unsinkable” resilience, culminating in a legacy that is forever entwined in the history of Las Vegas.
Billie Lourd Posts Sweet Throwback Photo with Grandma Debbie Reynolds in Honor of Her 90th Birthday
On what would have been Debbie Reynolds' 90th birthday Friday April 1st, 2022, Billie Lourd paid tribute to her "Abadaba" with an adorable throwback snapshot on Instagram
Billie Lourd is paying tribute to late grandma Debbie Reynolds on what would have been her 90th birthday.
On Friday, the 29-year-old actress posted a throwback snapshot captioned "♥️🆎🅰️🌛🆎🅰️♥️," seemingly in reference to Lourd's nickname for Reynolds, "Abadaba." (The term of endearment was inspired by the song "Aba Daba Honeymoon" from Reynolds' 1950 film Two Weeks with Love.)
In the sweet photo, a toddler Lourd is having a tea party with Reynolds, complete with a pink Minnie Mouse tea set. The Singin' in the Rain star sits at a child-size table, while her granddaughter appears to be feeding her.
The Booksmart actress's new husband Austen Rydell commented on the post, leaving a simple "💗" emoji in support.
Reynolds died of a stroke on Dec. 28, 2016 — one day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, Billie's mother, who'd had a heart attack on a flight from London to Los Angeles days earlier.
