Deborah "Debi" Mazar (born August 13, 1964) is an American
actress, perhaps best known for her trademark
Jersey Girl-type appearances, and as edgy, sharp-tongued women in
independent films and her recurring role on the
HBO series
Entourage as Shauna Roberts.
Early life
Mazar was born in
Jamaica, Queens, the daughter of Nancy and Harry Mazar. Her father was born in the
Latvian SSR,
Soviet Union, to a
Jewish family, while her mother was a
Catholic who converted to
Judaism and later became a
Buddhist and for a period of time studied with
Jehovah's Witnesses.
Career
Mazar began her career as a hip hop
b-girl in New York City. Her first television appearance was on the pilot for a hip hop television dance show,
Graffiti Rock in 1984. She appeared in five of
Madonna's music videos - "
Papa Don't Preach", "
True Blue" (both 1986), "
Justify My Love" (1990), "
Deeper and Deeper" (1992) and "
Music" (2000). Mazar has played a number of minor-yet-colorful supporting roles in a variety of movies, including: as Sandy, Henry Hill's girl on the side in
GoodFellas (1990);
The Doors (1991);
Bullets Over Broadway (1994); and as Spice (of Sugar and Spice, with
Drew Barrymore as Sugar) in
Batman Forever (1995). She gained her first real following from playing a character on
Civil Wars in the early 90s. When that show was cancelled her character was brought over as a recurring role in the 1993 - 1994 season of the TV drama
L.A. Law.
She played the villain Regina, a modern-day
Cruella de Vil in the popular family film
Beethoven's 2nd (1993). She has appeared in independent films like
Inside Monkey Zetterland and
Nowhere but has also dabbled in mainstream attempts like
Batman Forever, and her short-lived sitcom,
Temporarily Yours. (The sitcom was about a woman who, in an attempt to get a good apartment in New York City, lies about being employed with a temp agency and then shows up at the agency begging for work.) She also appeared as the
genie in the
Space Monkey's video, "Sugarcane".
Mazar appeared on a
Friends episode in its eighth season ("The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part One"). Mazar played "Doreen, the Evil Bitch," a crazed pregnant woman who shares a hospital room with
Rachel. From 2000–2002 she played "Jackie" on the television drama
That's Life.
Currently, she is in a supporting actress role on
Entourage, an original comedy series on
HBO. She also had a recurring role on the sitcom
Living with Fran, playing
Fran Drescher's character's cousin, Merrill. She also did a stint on the television series
Ugly Betty, where she plays Leah Stillman, a scam artist who claims to be a lawyer in a number of episodes.
Mazar was a contestant on the ninth season of
Dancing With the Stars. She was partnered with
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and finished in 12th place. She was eliminated in the 3rd week (October 6, 2009).
Personal life
She married Gabriele Corcos on March 16, 2002, and they have two daughters: Evelyn Maria (born on July 12, 2002) and Giulia Isabel (born on March 17, 2006). Mazar and Corcos are currently hosting a very successful internet show focused on
Tuscan cuisine:
Under The Tuscan Gun. The family divides their time between their home in Los Angeles and a fourteenth-century house outside of Florence that was given to them as a wedding present by Mazar’s in-laws.
Filmography
- L.A. Law (1993) TV Series .... Denise Ianello (1993-1994)
- Toys (1992) .... Nurse Debbie
- The Doors (1991) .... Whiskey Girl (credited as Debbie Mazar)
