Grace Adler
Encyclopedia
Grace Elizabeth Adler-Markus is a fictional character
on the American sitcom Will & Grace
, portrayed by Debra Messing
. She is a Jewish interior design
er (Grace is not a Jewish name, but it is mentioned that her Hebrew name is Rachel; Messing is Jewish in real life), living in New York City with her gay
best friend Will Truman
(played by Eric McCormack
). She is originally from Schenectady, New York
, and has graduated from Columbia University
. She also mentions in season 2 that she attended the Fashion Institute
.
), an overly dramatic actor. She is often annoyed by her mother and her antics, but also often realizes that she inherited quite a few of her mother's personality traits (as displayed in Bobbi's first appearance in season 1's "The Unsinkable Mommy Adler"). Grace also constantly strives for the affection of her father Martin (Alan Arkin
), competing with her two sisters (one younger, one older), who have more obvious problems than she (Joyce, played by Sara Rue
, is a mentally slow
compulsive overeater, although Grace herself has shown frequent instances of compulsive overreating, while Janet, portrayed by Geena Davis
, is rarely employed and promiscuous
). Grace herself is decidedly selfish and neurotic, but this is usually played for laughs, like when her husband Leo asked, "You want me to be happy, right?" and she sweetly replied "Not if it affects me negatively in any way." She is also somewhat vain, once declaring herself to be a "frickin' bombshell" and believing that she bears a strong resemblance to red-haired celebrities like Rita Hayworth
(once even thinking a photo of Hayworth was one of herself) and Nicole Kidman
. This, however, leads to her being taken down a peg, and she is usually the butt of numerous jokes by other characters. In one episode, while in Los Angeles
, she is repeatedly mistaken for Kathy Griffin
by tourists.
Grace's characteristics are often fodder for the show's antics. We even see her ballet slippers as a child and Will comments on how huge they are ("I went from a four to an eight in a month!"). Her feet are gargantuan, even for her height, and she's often ridiculed for them. She comments on the fact "feet the size of canoes" were the only things her father ever gave her. There is a general running joke of her being slovenly and unladylike, which contrasts with Will's uptight nature, usually for purposes of comedy. She is very cheap and often hoards on free stuff and even steals. She once mentions selling Will's
college
term papers for a profit, of which Will had no knowledge. One time, she even observes someone else's private workout and just follows the trainer and the trainee.
Grace has become infamous for her string of boyfriends, many played by guest stars such as Woody Harrelson
and Gregory Hines
. Grace married the Jewish doctor Leo Markus, played by Harry Connick, Jr.
, on November 21, 2002, but the marriage failed when he had a one-night stand
with a doctor from the Red Cross while working in Cambodia
with Doctors Without Borders. In season 8, the two reunited briefly during a flight to London when they coincidentally met on the plane. Leo was on his way to Thailand, while Grace was stopping in London. This mile high
tryst led to Grace getting pregnant, but she didn't tell Leo because he was engaged to another woman, Kate. However, in the series finale
, she and Leo reunite and raise the baby, a girl named Lila, together. Lila is born in Rome, Italy, where Leo was working at a hospital as a researcher. After one year in Rome the family move to New York, to their apartment in Brooklyn. Lila goes on to attend college and there meets Will and Vince's son, Ben. Lila and Ben were living in dorm rooms opposite each others' while at college; the same scenario that Will and Grace found themselves in while they attended college. Ben and Lila marry.
Grace also has a reputation for "turning" men gay. Several of her boyfriends - such as Will himself, and her second-season boyfriend Josh - ended up gay or bisexual
, and she has a recurring fear that this will happen again. (At one point she entered a room to find Jack
, Will
, and Nathan (played by Harrelson) all passed out on a bed together, and moaned, "Oh, no, I turned another one.") In season 8, she took this to a new level when she briefly married James Hanson, Will's Canadian boyfriend in search of a green card. They annulled the marriage a few days later because of James' lack of respect towards people with disabilities.
Grace's best friend since college is Will Truman
, and their relationship is the focus of the show. They met at a college party at Columbia University. Through the third-season episode "Lows in the Mid-Eighties," we see they began dating and Grace did not realize that Will was gay at the time, and Will had not come out of the closet yet. When Will met Jack McFarland
at a party, he made him realize his homosexuality. Will "proposed" to Grace during Thanksgiving, in an effort to postpone actually having sex with her. When he finally came out to her hours later, Grace was so angry with him that she didn't speak to him for a year. They ran into each other at a grocery store a year later and made up. Ever since then, they remained very close. Grace moves into Will's apartment in season one when she breaks up with her fiance Danny (with whom she was living), moves out in season 2 to declare her independence (although the apartment is across the hall from Will's), but then moves back in the 3rd season. She eventually moves to Brooklyn in season five when she marries Leo but moves back in with Will in season 7 when she divorces Leo. Their closeness is often made fun of by other characters like Jack or Karen, referring to them as a married couple. They can finish each others sentences at times, which helps them in their fast rounds in trivia and parlor games. They can also be quite dysfunctional and co-dependent, sometimes even requiring the other's approval of clothing and boyfriends. When Will began dating Vince in season 6, he was very nervous about Grace's opinion of him, noting relationships have ended because of Grace not liking one detail about his boyfriend (one example given is that all Grace had to say about one such boyfriend was "mock turtleneck," and the relationship was ruined). Despite this, they are generally caring and supportive of each other.
Aside from Will, Grace also has a strong relationship with her assistant, Karen Walker
, a rich, alcoholic
socialite who does virtually no work. Karen is nevertheless useful to Grace, as she pays for her employer's health insurance, gives Grace holiday bonuses, and occasionally uses her society connections to help Grace get work. Otherwise, Karen spends her "work" hours belittling Grace and Karen's maid Rosario
, and trading banter with her flamboyantly gay friend Jack
. She routinely criticizes Grace's breast size and choices in fashion
(usually by disdainfully asking, "Honey, what's this all about?") and men. Nonetheless, Grace and Karen became close friends over the years. Grace eventually learns to look past Karen's faults, and Karen occasionally does stop ridiculing her or being outrageous to reveal a softer, more caring side. In one episode, Grace stands up to Milo (played by Andy García
) who refuses to go on a second date with Karen, who was going through a divorce with her husband Stan and was very vulnerable at the time. In another instance, Karen seemingly turns down Grace's proposal for a business loan out of mean behavior, but she reveals she really did it to protect Grace, who didn't really have a strong business plan.
Grace also has a somewhat close bond with Jack McFarland
. During earlier seasons, Jack often spoke poorly about Grace and even claimed to "not be into her" at one point, partially because of his jealousy of the closeness between Grace and Will. However, after they spend time together while Will is in the Cayman Islands between Seasons two and three, they develop a closer friendship, later discovering they share a love of ice skating and Antiques Roadshow
. Despite their friendship, however, they often antagonize one another, often leading to Grace striking Jack in some manner.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
on the American sitcom Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, portrayed by Debra Messing
Debra Messing
Debra Lynn Messing is an American actress, voice artist, and comedienne. She is perhaps best known for her role as Grace Adler in the NBC sitcom Will & Grace and as Molly Kagan in the mini-series The Starter Wife....
. She is a Jewish interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
er (Grace is not a Jewish name, but it is mentioned that her Hebrew name is Rachel; Messing is Jewish in real life), living in New York City with her gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
best friend Will Truman
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
(played by Eric McCormack
Eric McCormack
Eric James McCormack is a Canadian American actor, musician, writer and producer. Born in Toronto, he began his acting career performing in school plays at Stephen Leacock Collegiate Institute High School...
). She is originally from Schenectady, New York
Schenectady, New York
Schenectady is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 66,135...
, and has graduated from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. She also mentions in season 2 that she attended the Fashion Institute
Fashion Institute of Technology
The Fashion Institute of Technology, generally known as FIT, is a State University of New York college of art, business, design, and technology connected to the fashion industry, with an urban campus located on West 27th Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of...
.
Fictional character history
Grace was born on April 26, 1967, in Schenectady, New York. She has been particularly influenced by her mother, Bobbi (Debbie ReynoldsDebbie Reynolds
Debbie Reynolds is an American actress, singer, and dancer.She was initially signed at age 16 by Warner Bros., but her career got off to a slow start. When her contract was not renewed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer gave her a small, but significant part in the film Three Little Words , then signed her to...
), an overly dramatic actor. She is often annoyed by her mother and her antics, but also often realizes that she inherited quite a few of her mother's personality traits (as displayed in Bobbi's first appearance in season 1's "The Unsinkable Mommy Adler"). Grace also constantly strives for the affection of her father Martin (Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
), competing with her two sisters (one younger, one older), who have more obvious problems than she (Joyce, played by Sara Rue
Sara Rue
Sara Rue is an American television actress. She is best known for the roles she played as Carmen Ferrara on the comedy-drama Popular and Claude Casey on the sitcom Less Than Perfect. She is also known as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig...
, is a mentally slow
Mental retardation
Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...
compulsive overeater, although Grace herself has shown frequent instances of compulsive overreating, while Janet, portrayed by Geena Davis
Geena Davis
Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is an American actress, film producer, writer, former fashion model, and a women's Olympics archery team semi-finalist...
, is rarely employed and promiscuous
Promiscuity
In humans, promiscuity refers to less discriminating casual sex with many sexual partners. The term carries a moral or religious judgement and is viewed in the context of the mainstream social ideal for sexual activity to take place within exclusive committed relationships...
). Grace herself is decidedly selfish and neurotic, but this is usually played for laughs, like when her husband Leo asked, "You want me to be happy, right?" and she sweetly replied "Not if it affects me negatively in any way." She is also somewhat vain, once declaring herself to be a "frickin' bombshell" and believing that she bears a strong resemblance to red-haired celebrities like Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth
Rita Hayworth was an American film actress and dancer who attained fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars...
(once even thinking a photo of Hayworth was one of herself) and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
. This, however, leads to her being taken down a peg, and she is usually the butt of numerous jokes by other characters. In one episode, while in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, she is repeatedly mistaken for Kathy Griffin
Kathy Griffin
Kathleen Mary "Kathy" Griffin is an American actress, stand-up comedienne, television personality, New York Times best-selling author and an LGBT rights advocate. Griffin first gained recognition for appearances on two episodes of Seinfeld, and then for her supporting role on the NBC sitcom...
by tourists.
Grace's characteristics are often fodder for the show's antics. We even see her ballet slippers as a child and Will comments on how huge they are ("I went from a four to an eight in a month!"). Her feet are gargantuan, even for her height, and she's often ridiculed for them. She comments on the fact "feet the size of canoes" were the only things her father ever gave her. There is a general running joke of her being slovenly and unladylike, which contrasts with Will's uptight nature, usually for purposes of comedy. She is very cheap and often hoards on free stuff and even steals. She once mentions selling Will's
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
term papers for a profit, of which Will had no knowledge. One time, she even observes someone else's private workout and just follows the trainer and the trainee.
Grace has become infamous for her string of boyfriends, many played by guest stars such as Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...
and Gregory Hines
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
. Grace married the Jewish doctor Leo Markus, played by Harry Connick, Jr.
Harry Connick, Jr.
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. is an American singer, big-band leader/conductor, pianist, actor, and composer. He has sold over 25 million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top 60 best-selling male artists in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with...
, on November 21, 2002, but the marriage failed when he had a one-night stand
One-night stand
Originally, a one-night stand was a single theatre performance, usually by a guest performer on tour, as opposed to an ongoing engagement. Today, however, the term is more commonly defined as a single sexual encounter, in which neither participant has any intention or expectation of a relationship...
with a doctor from the Red Cross while working in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
with Doctors Without Borders. In season 8, the two reunited briefly during a flight to London when they coincidentally met on the plane. Leo was on his way to Thailand, while Grace was stopping in London. This mile high
Mile High Club
The Mile High Club is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have sex while on board an aircraft in flight. There is no known formally constituted club so named...
tryst led to Grace getting pregnant, but she didn't tell Leo because he was engaged to another woman, Kate. However, in the series finale
Series finale
A series finale refers to the last installment of a series with a narrative presented through mediums such as television, film and literature. In many Commonwealth countries, the term final episode is commonly used in regards to a television series...
, she and Leo reunite and raise the baby, a girl named Lila, together. Lila is born in Rome, Italy, where Leo was working at a hospital as a researcher. After one year in Rome the family move to New York, to their apartment in Brooklyn. Lila goes on to attend college and there meets Will and Vince's son, Ben. Lila and Ben were living in dorm rooms opposite each others' while at college; the same scenario that Will and Grace found themselves in while they attended college. Ben and Lila marry.
Grace also has a reputation for "turning" men gay. Several of her boyfriends - such as Will himself, and her second-season boyfriend Josh - ended up gay or bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
, and she has a recurring fear that this will happen again. (At one point she entered a room to find Jack
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
, Will
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
, and Nathan (played by Harrelson) all passed out on a bed together, and moaned, "Oh, no, I turned another one.") In season 8, she took this to a new level when she briefly married James Hanson, Will's Canadian boyfriend in search of a green card. They annulled the marriage a few days later because of James' lack of respect towards people with disabilities.
Grace's best friend since college is Will Truman
Will Truman
William Pierce "Will" Truman is a fictional character on the American sitcom Will & Grace, portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a gay lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Adler.-Fictional character history:...
, and their relationship is the focus of the show. They met at a college party at Columbia University. Through the third-season episode "Lows in the Mid-Eighties," we see they began dating and Grace did not realize that Will was gay at the time, and Will had not come out of the closet yet. When Will met Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
at a party, he made him realize his homosexuality. Will "proposed" to Grace during Thanksgiving, in an effort to postpone actually having sex with her. When he finally came out to her hours later, Grace was so angry with him that she didn't speak to him for a year. They ran into each other at a grocery store a year later and made up. Ever since then, they remained very close. Grace moves into Will's apartment in season one when she breaks up with her fiance Danny (with whom she was living), moves out in season 2 to declare her independence (although the apartment is across the hall from Will's), but then moves back in the 3rd season. She eventually moves to Brooklyn in season five when she marries Leo but moves back in with Will in season 7 when she divorces Leo. Their closeness is often made fun of by other characters like Jack or Karen, referring to them as a married couple. They can finish each others sentences at times, which helps them in their fast rounds in trivia and parlor games. They can also be quite dysfunctional and co-dependent, sometimes even requiring the other's approval of clothing and boyfriends. When Will began dating Vince in season 6, he was very nervous about Grace's opinion of him, noting relationships have ended because of Grace not liking one detail about his boyfriend (one example given is that all Grace had to say about one such boyfriend was "mock turtleneck," and the relationship was ruined). Despite this, they are generally caring and supportive of each other.
Aside from Will, Grace also has a strong relationship with her assistant, Karen Walker
Karen Walker (character)
Karen Walker is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace . She was portrayed by actress and singer Megan Mullally...
, a rich, alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
socialite who does virtually no work. Karen is nevertheless useful to Grace, as she pays for her employer's health insurance, gives Grace holiday bonuses, and occasionally uses her society connections to help Grace get work. Otherwise, Karen spends her "work" hours belittling Grace and Karen's maid Rosario
Rosario Salazar
Rosario Inés Consuelo Yolanda Salazar McFarland is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace. She is played by actress Shelley Morrison...
, and trading banter with her flamboyantly gay friend Jack
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
. She routinely criticizes Grace's breast size and choices in fashion
Fashion
Fashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
(usually by disdainfully asking, "Honey, what's this all about?") and men. Nonetheless, Grace and Karen became close friends over the years. Grace eventually learns to look past Karen's faults, and Karen occasionally does stop ridiculing her or being outrageous to reveal a softer, more caring side. In one episode, Grace stands up to Milo (played by Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
) who refuses to go on a second date with Karen, who was going through a divorce with her husband Stan and was very vulnerable at the time. In another instance, Karen seemingly turns down Grace's proposal for a business loan out of mean behavior, but she reveals she really did it to protect Grace, who didn't really have a strong business plan.
Grace also has a somewhat close bond with Jack McFarland
Jack McFarland
John Philip "Jack" McFarland was a fictional character on the American television sitcom Will & Grace, played by Sean Hayes.-Character personality:...
. During earlier seasons, Jack often spoke poorly about Grace and even claimed to "not be into her" at one point, partially because of his jealousy of the closeness between Grace and Will. However, after they spend time together while Will is in the Cayman Islands between Seasons two and three, they develop a closer friendship, later discovering they share a love of ice skating and Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow
Antiques Roadshow is a British television show in which antiques appraisers travel to various regions of the United Kingdom to appraise antiques brought in by local people. It has been running since 1979...
. Despite their friendship, however, they often antagonize one another, often leading to Grace striking Jack in some manner.