(Newswire.net — December 31, 2016) — Los Angeles, California – Hollywood star, Debbie Reynolds, famous for her role in one of the greatest American movies of all times ‘Singin’ in the Rain’, and mother of the late ‘Star Wars princess” actress Carrie Fisher, has died. She was 84.
Reynolds’ death came one day after that of her daughter, actress and “Star Wars” icon, Carrie Fisher. In a Facebook post, Reynolds had expressed gratitude for the outpouring of tributes to her “beloved and amazing daughter.”
Born in El Paso, Texas, as Mary Frances Reynolds, she was ‘discovered’ by a talent hunter who saw her on a beauty contest she had won, after her family moved to Burbank. He offered her a $65 a week contract at Warner Bros studio which changed her name to Debbie Reynolds, against her will as she later claimed.
When her contract expired, MGM picked her up for $300 a week.
As her daughter, iconic “Star Wars” star Carrie Fisher, she was only 20-years-old when she was pulled into the movie business and that changed her life. Gene Kelly was hard on her and had put her on a rigorous dance training that she admitted she needed.
Many years later, “Singin’ in the rain” was No. 1 on AFI’s 100 years of Musicals list. The movie remained as one of the greatest American movies of all times.
All three of Reynolds’ marriages ended in divorce, including her second to shoe mogul Harry Karl, who gambled away most of their money. When she divorced him, Reynolds discovered that she is more than $3 million in debt.
The debts she created during her long career forced Reynolds to remain active well past her peak days. She played Albert Brooks’ mom in the 1996 comedy “Mother.” In 2013, she played the mother of Liberace in an HBO movie, “Behind the Candelabra”.
After she was no longer contacted by movie agents, Reynolds, fighter by nature, continued to perform on stage and in nightclubs.Reynolds received the Screen Actors Guild’s Life Achievement Award. In the same year, she was honored with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Humanitarian Award for her work involving mental health issues.