Actress/singer/dancer Debbie Reynolds, perhaps best known to many film buffs for sharing the screen with Gene Kelly in “Singin’ in the Rain,” will receive the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the union announced today.
Reynolds, 82, will be presented with the honor during the 21st annual SAG Awards ceremony on Jan. 25 at the Shrine Auditorium.
Ken Howard, president of SAG-AFTRA, hailed Reynolds as a “tremendously talented performer.”
“Her generous spirit and unforgettable performances have entertained audiences across the globe, moving us all from laughter to tears and back again,” Howard said. “Congratulations, Debbie, on your life achievements.”
A Texas native, Reynolds grabbed the attention of talent scouts when she entered a Miss Burbank contest at age 16.
She earned her first screen credit in “Three Little Girls,” starring Fred Astaire and Red Skelton. She followed that performance with “Two Weeks with Love,” featuring the hit song “Aba Daba Honeymoon.” That led to her casting as Kathy Selden, a young dancer looking to make it big in Hollywood, in “Singin’ in the Rain.” The role made her a star.
She went on to perform in dozens more films, including “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” which earned her Oscar and Golden Globe nominations. She also appeared in “How the West Was Won,” “The Pleasure of His Company,” “Divorce American Style” and “The Catered Affair.”
She also received Golden Globe nominations for “Three Little Words,” “Bundle of Joy” and “Mother.” She was nominated for her TV work on “The Debbie Reynolds Show.”
Reynolds most recently appeared in the award winning HBO movie “Behind the Candelabra,” portraying Liberace’s mother.
