Until this very day, An Officer and a Gentleman remains one of the most iconic romantic dramas there are and a benchmark of what true love should stand for. However, the film wouldn’t be what it is without the stunning performances of Richard Gere and beautiful Debra Winger.
Even today, at the age of 69, Winger looks as enchanting as ever.
At the age of 18, the actress was involved in a life-threatening accident. While working at an amusement park, she fell off a truck, resulting in a cerebral hemorrhage that left her partially paralyzed and blind for 10 months. Despite the odds, she had regained her sight and pursued career in acting.
Winger’s acting career started back in 1976 with the film Slumber Party ‘57. What followed was the role of Drusilla, the younger sister to Lynda Carter’s Diana Prince in Wonder Woman.
During the 1980’s, Winger landed three roles in three movies which took her to stardom and helped her make a name for herself.
In 1980, she starred in Urban Cowboy, with John Travolta, who the world went crazy about following his smooth dance moves in Saturday Night Fever (1977) and Grease (1988); she then starred as Paula in An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) and as Emma in Terms of Endearment (1983), alongside Shirley MacLaine.
Amid her success, Winger took some time off Hollywood, and today, four decades later, there are still speculations of the reasons for her hiatus.