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Debi Mazar Corcos (/ˈmeɪzɑːr/;[1] born August 13, 1964[2]) is an American actress and television personality. She began her career with supporting roles in Goodfellas (1990), Little Man Tate (1991), Singles (1992), and Batman Forever (1995), followed by lead roles on the legal drama series Civil Wars and L.A. Law. She portrayed press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage. She starred as Maggie Amato on TV Land's Younger, and alongside her husband Gabriele Corcos in the Cooking Channel series Extra Virgin.
Debi Mazar | |
|---|---|
 Mazar in 2009 | |
| Born | August 13, 1964 New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
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Mazar was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Nancy and Harry Mazar (Harija Fogelmanis[3]). Her father was born in German-occupied Latvia to a Jewish family. She had no knowledge of her father's ancestry until her twenties as he practiced Catholicism.[4] Mazar's parents annulled their marriage shortly after she was born,[5] and she spent her early life in the country in upstate New York with her mother.[5] As a teenager, she relocated to Long Island, where she lived with her godparents.[5]
Mazar left home at 15, and by 16 she was working as a VIP doorperson at the Mudd Club in New York City.[6] She then went to work at Danceteria.[6] Mazar worked various odd jobs, including selling jewelry at Fiorucci with Linda Ramone and Joey Arias, and later as a dental assistant.[7]
In the early 1980s, Mazar was part of the downtown club scene in New York City, socializing with artists Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Kenny Scharf.[6]
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While working at Danceteria, Mazar met Madonna,[5] who hired Mazar to do her makeup for her first music video "Everybody" (1982). She appeared in five of Madonna's music videos: "Papa Don't Preach" (1986), "True Blue" (1986), "Justify My Love" (1990), "Deeper and Deeper" (1992) and "Music" (2000).[8][9] Mazar originated the hair and makeup for the 1988 play Speed-the-Plow.[7]
As a teenager, Mazar was a b-girl in New York City. Her first television appearance was on the pilot for the hip-hop television dance show Graffiti Rock, in 1984.[10] Her first major role was playing a character on Civil Wars in the early 1990s. When that series was cancelled her character was brought over as a recurring role between the 1993 and 1994 seasons of the TV drama L.A. Law.[8]
Mazar has played a number of minor supporting roles in a variety of films, including Sandy, a friend of Henry Hill's mistress in Goodfellas (1990); The Doors (1991); a small role in Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992); Bullets Over Broadway (1994); and as Spice (of Sugar and Spice, with Drew Barrymore as Sugar) in Batman Forever (1995).
Mazar played the villain Regina, a modern-day Cruella de Vil, in the family film Beethoven's 2nd (1993). She has appeared in independent films Inside Monkey Zetterland and Nowhere and her short-lived sitcom, Temporarily Yours. She appeared in the Space Monkeys' music video "Sugarcane".[8]
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.[11] In the 1999 docudrama film The Insider she played character Lowell Bergman's assistant Debi. From 2000-02 she played Jackie on the television drama That's Life. She provided the voice of Maria Latore in the video games Grand Theft Auto III (2001) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004).[12][13] Also in 2004, she made a cameo appearance in the film Collateral in which she played the passenger while arguing with her boyfriend (Bodhi Elfman) while the main protagonist, Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx), is driving them to their destination.
From 2004 to 2011, she had a supporting role on Entourage as press agent Shauna Roberts. She had a recurring role on the sitcom Living with Fran, as Merrill, the cousin of Fran Drescher's character. She did a two-episode stint on the television series Ugly Betty as fraudster Leah Stillman.[14]
Mazar was a contestant on the ninth season of Dancing With the Stars. She was partnered with Maksim Chmerkovskiy and finished in twelfth place, eliminated in the third week (October 6, 2009).[15] In 2012, Mazar played Jessica, a glamorous, leather-clad villainess in Home Alone: The Holiday Heist.[16]
On January 19, 2011, Mazar and her husband Gabriele Corcos began hosting the cooking show Extra Virgin on the Cooking Channel, and released a cookbook, Recipes & Love From Our Tuscan Kitchen, in 2014.[17][18][19] Mazar and her husband Gabriele Corcos appeared on an episode of the ABC talk show The Chew in 2014 to promote their show, Extra Virgin.[20] Their two daughters starred in the series, which depicted their lives and showcased their own recipes. The show was scripted and lasted five seasons. In 2015, Mazar and her husband started another series on the Cooking Channel entitled Extra Virgin Americana where they travel the U.S., road trip style, with their children and family friend searching for great food.[21]
From 2015 to 2021, Mazar starred in Younger with Sutton Foster and Hilary Duff as Maggie Amato. The series met critical acclaim and was renewed for a seventh season in 2019, making it the longest-running original series in TV Land network's history.[22]
Mazar appeared in the second season of The $100,000 Pyramid reboot on ABC on August 6, 2017. In the main game, she helped her contestant get seven clues in 15 seconds causing host Michael Strahan to say, "I think that's the quickest round we've ever had, 15 seconds!"[23]
In 2018 she played Ava Gardner in the Spanish period comedy-drama television series Arde Madrid, telling the story of the period which the American actress spent in Madrid during Francoist Spain.[citation needed]
Between 2020–2021, Mazar and her husband ran a cafe/restaurant called Tuscan Gun in the Windsor Terrace neighborhood of Brooklyn.[24] Mazar and Corcos formerly hosted an internet show focused on Tuscan cuisine, Under The Tuscan Gun.[25]
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Mazar dated artist Kenny Scharf and graffiti artist Kel 139 in the 1980s.[26][6] She dated actor Paul Reubens for several years beginning in 1993. Reubens later credited Mazar with ending his depression resulting from his 1991 arrest.[27] According to Mazar, their relationship was platonic.[28]
She married Gabriele Corcos on March 16, 2002, in a ceremony officiated by Ellen Burstyn.[29] They have two daughters, Giulia and Evelina. The family formerly lived in Los Angeles and moved to Brooklyn, New York in 2009. They divided their time between Brooklyn and a 15th-century home outside of Florence, Italy, that was given to them as a wedding present by Mazar's in-laws.[29] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mazar and her family relocated to their Florence villa;[30] she has Italian citizenship.[31]
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Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Goodfellas | Sandy | |
| 1991 | The Doors | Whiskey Girl | |
| Jungle Fever | Denise | ||
| Little Man Tate | Gina | ||
| 1992 | In the Soup | Suzie | |
| Inside Monkey Zetterland | Daphne | ||
| Love Is Like That | Delores | ||
| Singles | Brenda | ||
| Malcolm X | Peg | ||
| Toys | Nurse Debbie | ||
| 1993 | So I Married an Axe Murderer | Susan | |
| Money for Nothing | Monica Russo | ||
| Beethoven's 2nd | Regina | ||
| 1994 | Bullets Over Broadway | Violet | |
| Witch Hunt | The Manicurist | TV movie | |
| 1995 | Batman Forever | "Spice" | |
| Empire Records | Jane | ||
| 1996 | Things I Never Told You | Diane | |
| Girl 6 | Girl #39 | ||
| Trees Lounge | Crystal | ||
| Red Ribbon Blues | Darcy | ||
| Space Truckers | Cindy | ||
| 1997 | Meet Wally Sparks | Sandy Gallo | |
| Nowhere | "Kozy" | ||
| She's So Lovely | Georgie | ||
| The Deli | Teresa | ||
| Casper: A Spirited Beginning | Angie Lyons | Video | |
| Trouble on the Corner | Ericca Rice | ||
| 1998 | Frogs for Snakes | Simone | |
| Hush | Lisa | ||
| Witness to the Mob | Deborah Gravano | TV movie | |
| There's No Fish Food in Heaven | Rosie | ||
| David and Lisa | Maggie | TV movie | |
| Marry Me or Die | - | ||
| 1999 | The Sissy Duckling | Mother Duck 2 (voice) | TV film |
| The Insider | Debbie De Luca | ||
| 2000 | More Dogs Than Bones | Mary | |
| Held for Ransom | Rita | ||
| Downtown 81 | Peppermint Lounge Dancer | ||
| 2002 | Ten Tiny Love Stories | "Six" | |
| The Tuxedo | CSA Agent Steena | ||
| The Groovenians | Yalda/Swirly/Cuckoo Bird (voice) | Short | |
| 2003 | Who Killed the Idea? | Mysterious Woman | |
| Deception | Janet Steiner | ||
| 2004 | Collateral | Young Professional Woman | |
| Goodnight, Joseph Parker | Rita | ||
| My Tiny Universe | Bonnie | ||
| 2005 | Be Cool | Marla | |
| Edmond | Matron | ||
| Wait | Joanne | Short | |
| 2006 | Lies & Alibis | Detective Bryce | |
| Red Riding Hood | Red's Mother | ||
| 2008 | A Beautiful Life | Susan | |
| The Women | Tanya | ||
| 2012 | Home Alone: The Holiday Heist | Jessica | TV movie |
| 2013 | Lovelace | Dolly Sharp | |
| Return to Babylon | Gloria Swanson | ||
| 2014 | She's Funny That Way | Vickie | |
| The Actor | Bag Lady | Short | |
| 2015 | Entourage | Shauna Roberts | |
| 2017 | The Only Living Boy in New York | Anna | |
| Wonder Wheel | Birthday Party Guest | ||
| 2021 | A Christmas Number One | Colleen Porter | |
| 2022 | Rainbow | Party Guest | |
| 2023 | The Kill Room | The Kimono |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Graffiti Rock | Dancer | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1991–93 | Civil Wars | Denise Iannello | Main cast |
| 1993–94 | L.A. Law | Denise Iannello | Main cast: Season 8 |
| 1995 | Burke's Law | Rachel Davis | Episode: "Who Killed the Motor Car Maverick?" |
| 1997 | E! True Hollywood Story | Herself | Episode: "From Pinup to Sex Queen: Bettie Page" |
| Temporarily Yours | Deb DeAngelo | Main cast | |
| 1998–99 | Working | Liz Tricoli | Main cast: Season 2 |
| 1999 | The Wild Thornberrys | Mongoose (voice) | Episode: "Darwin Plays the Palace" |
| Providence | Vonda Vickers | Episodes: "Thank You, Providence: Parts 1 & 2" | |
| 2000 | Get Real | Kate Harris | Episode: "Saved" |
| 2000–02 | That's Life | Jackie O'Grady | Main cast |
| 2002 | Hollywood Squares | Herself/Panelist | Episode: "May 2 & 3, 2002" |
| Friends | Doreen, The Evil Bitch | Episode: "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Part 1" | |
| 2003 | Wanda at Large | Jenny Hawkins | Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
| 2003–04 | 7th Heaven | Nurse Kelly | Recurring cast: Season 8 |
| 2003–05 | All of Us | Alex | Recurring cast: Season 1-2 |
| 2004 | The Practice | Gigi Coley | Recurring cast: Season 8 |
| CSI: Miami | Rebecca Briggs | Episode: "Speed Kills" | |
| 2004–11 | Entourage | Shauna Roberts | Recurring cast: Season 1 & 5-6 & 8, Main cast: Season 2-3, Guest: Season 4 & 7 |
| 2005 | NYPD Blue | Maxine Annunziato | Episode: "Lenny Scissorhands" |
| 2005–06 | Living With Fran | Cousin Merrill | Recurring cast: Season 2 |
| 2006 | Ghost Whisperer | Josie | Episode: "The Woman of His Dreams" |
| Ugly Betty | Leah Feldman | Recurring cast: Season 1 | |
| 2007 | Top Chef | Herself | Episode: "Seven" |
| 2008 | Privileged | Debra | Episode: "Pilot" |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Peggy Bernardi | Episode: "Babes" | |
| 2009 | Celebrity Ghost Stories | Herself | Episode: "Barry Williams, Debi Mazar, Greg Grunberg and Sammy Hagar" |
| Dancing With The Stars | Herself | Contestant: Season 9 | |
| Burn Notice | Amy | Episode: "Friends Like These" | |
| castle | Paula Haas | Episode: "When the Bough Breaks" | |
| 2010 | Sesame Street | Herself | Episode: "Jack Grows His Own Beanstalk" |
| Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Episode: "12 Chefs Compete" | |
| RuPaul's Drag U | Herself/Guest Judge | Episode: "Moms on the Verge" | |
| Shalom Sesame | Herself | Episode: "Chanukah: The Missing Menorah" | |
| Iron Chef America | Herself/ICA Judge | Episode: "Symon/Burrell vs. Cora/Irvine" | |
| The Life & Times of Tim | Rochelle (voice) | Episode: "Rodney Has a Wife?" | |
| Hawthorne | Donna Alberghetti | Episode: "Hidden Truths" | |
| Jonas | Mona Klein | Recurring cast: Season 2 | |
| 2010–12 | Unique Eats | Herself | Recurring cast: Season 1-4 |
| 2011 | Iron Chef America | Herself/ICA Judge | Episode: "Holiday Battle Sparkling Wine: Garces vs. Lata" |
| Love Lust | Herself | Episode: "Make-Up" | |
| Food(ography) | Herself | Episode: "Los Angeles" | |
| Good Vibes | Barbara "Babs" Brando (voice) | Main cast | |
| 2011–12 | The Perfect 3 | Herself | Episode: "Salads" & "Pizza" |
| 2011–15 | Extra Virgin | Herself/Co-Host | Main Co-Host |
| 2012 | Melissa & Joey | Harper Quinn | Episode: "The Knockout" |
| Happily Divorced | Jan | Episode: "The Back-Up Fran" | |
| 2013 | Not My Mama's Meals | Herself | Episode: "Getting Saucy!" |
| 2015 | Park Bench with Steve Buscemi | Herself | Episode: "Sidekicker" |
| The Kitchen | Herself/Host | Episode: "Freezer Fixes and Pantry Staples" | |
| 2015–17 | Beat Bobby Flay | Herself/Judge & Mentor | Recurring Judge & Mentor |
| 2015–21 | Younger | Maggie Amato | Main cast |
| 2016 | All-Star Academy | Herself/Co-Host/Judge | Episode: "Geography" |
| Extra Virgin Americana | Herself/Co-Host | Main Co-Host | |
| Project Runway All Stars | Herself/Guest Judge | Episode: "Rebel with a Cause" | |
| Elementary | Detective Cosa | Episode: "It Serves You Right" | |
| 2017 | So Cosmo | Herself | Episode: "Vol. 1, No. 2: Big New Futures" |
| The $100,000 Pyramid | Herself/Celebrity Player | Episode: "Bobby Moynihan vs. Debi Mazar and Wendie Malick vs. Jesse Palmer" | |
| 2017–19 | Happy! | Isabella Scaramucci | Recurring cast |
| 2018 | Match Game | Herself/Celebrity Panelist | Episode: "Episode #3.16" |
| The Simpsons | Minnie Szyslak (voice) | Episode: "King Leer" | |
| Arde Madrid | Ava Gardner | Main cast | |
| 2019 | Worst Cooks in America | Herself/Judge | Episode: "The Day We've Been Waiting For" |
| 2020 | Power | Doloris | Recurring cast: Season 6 |
| Katy Keene | Herself | Episode: "Chapter Twelve: Chain of Fools" | |
| At Home with Amy Sedaris | "Jo-Jo" | Episode: "First Dates" | |
| 2021 | The Other Two | Herself | Episode: "Pat Connects with Her Fans" |
| 2022 | The Pentaverate | Patty Davis | Main cast |
| 2023 | City Island | Laney | Episode: "History" |
| East New York | Ann-Marie Quinlan | Recurring cast | |
| 2024 | Ladies in Black | Magda Szombathelyi | Main cast |
| 2024 | Kaos | Medusa | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | Emily in Paris | Marlena | Episode: "All Roads Lead to Rome" |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Grand Theft Auto III | Maria Latore | |
| 2004 | Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas | ||
| 2021 | Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition | Archival recordings Remasters of Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas only | |
Music videos
| Year | Artist | Song |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Madonna | "Everybody" |
| 1986 | "Papa Don't Preach" | |
| "True Blue" | ||
| 1990 | "Justify My Love" | |
| 1992 | "Deeper and Deeper" | |
| 1997 | Space Monkeys | "Sugar Cane" |
| 2000 | Madonna | "Music" |
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