Debra Messing has much in common with Lucille Ball: bright red hair, a big smile, and an undeniable talent for physical comedy. Need we mention Messing’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? Or her string of Emmy nominations for her lead role in a highly successful sitcom? For 8 seasons—11 if you count the revival—Messing acted opposite Eric McCormack in Will & Grace, but there’s more to her than meets the laugh tracks. She’s also graced the screen in movies like The Wedding Date and TV shows like The Starter Wife. Now, Messing plays the wife of New York mobster Frank Costello (Robert De Niro) in The Alto Knights, a role she credits with re-igniting her passion for acting. To celebrate the film’s release, the actress shares her key components to the good life. —Carolina de Armas
Bag: Toteme.
Birthday: Sailing with loved ones, snorkeling, seeing dolphins play, snoozing in the sun, and lunch.
Breakfast, weekday: Two eggs in a gluten-free spinach-wrap tortilla, avocado, and coffee with added Agent Nateur Holi (Mane) Collagen powder.
Breakfast, weekend: Smoothie bowl with Bomb protein powder, lactose-free cottage cheese, coconut yogurt, almond butter, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hempseeds, banana, and coconut and walnuts on top.
Car: BMW X7.
Cocktail: Don Julio 1942 Tequila neat, with lime.
Cocktail Appetizer: Warm nuts.
Date: Go see a play on Broadway, followed by a late dinner. I’m available.
Favorite Weekday Dinner Spot: Elio’s, on New York’s Upper East Side.
Disguise: Very difficult to do with red hair.
Excuse: “I need to sleep.”
Family: My son.
Good-bye: The poem “When Great Trees Fall,” by Maya Angelou.
Hideaway: Miraval Resorts and Spas.
Hotel: One & Only Mandarina hotel, in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico.
Indulgence: Sleep.
Last Meal: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, pizza, and fries.
Movie: Spanish, dystopian thriller The Platform, directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.
Nonfiction book: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman.
Novel: I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman.
Pair of pants: Citizens of Humanity jeans.
Pair of shoes: Frēda Salvador black embossed croc loafers.
Pen or Pencil: Pilot Frixion erasable pen. Or a broad-nib fountain pen.
Pet: Dog, always.
Piece of advice: “Don’t listen to anyone. Follow your instinct.”
Podcast: Smartless, obviously.
Restaurant: Veselka Ukrainian restaurant, in New York’s East Village.
Singer: Cynthia Erivo.
Television series: Paradise. (Gotta love my Sterling!)
Theme song to your life: “I’m Here,” by Cynthia Erivo, in The Color Purple.
Time of day: Midnight. Insomniac.
Vacation: Safari in Africa.
View: Sunrise on the Serengeti.
Debra’s Essentials
