Debbie Reynolds's film career began at MGM after she won a beauty contest at age 16 impersonating Betty Hutton. Most of her film work has been in MGM musicals, as perky, wholesome young women. She continues to use her dancing skills with stage work. Nearly all the money she makes is spent toward her goal of creating a Hollywood museum. Her collection numbers more than 3000 costumes and 46,000 square-feet worth of props and equipment.



Bundle of Joy (1956): $150,000

. Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for her Las Vegas hotel. [July 1997] She appeared as Dan's mother, fresh out of the mental ward, during an episode of the sitcom "Roseanne" (1988). When she later appeared on Roseanne's talk show, she revealed that during the filming of that episode, while she and Roseanne were wrestling in the back yard, Roseanne, quite unknowingly, accidentally broke one of her ribs. Won the 1948 Miss Burbank contest and was offered a screen test by Warner Bros. the day after her win. She initially entered the contest because everyone who entered received a silk scarf, blouse and free lunch. She made her first appearance at the Hollywood Collectors & Celebrities Show on April 6th & 7th, 2002, at Beverly Garland's Holiday Inn in North Hollywood, California. Considers herself a "movie-oholic" and has an extensive collection of memorabilia, with over 4,000 costumes from the silent screen period to the 1970s. She has been known to gather posters from her collection of 3,000 and drive to homes of actor pals for autographs. In the 1990s she turned her collection into a Las Vegas movie museum, but had to shut it down in 1997 because of financial problems. Recently she has looked into the possibility of opening up a hall of fame museum in Hollywood near Grauman's Chinese Theatre. April 2002: Opened the Hollywood Motion Picture Collection near the new Kodak Theatre. The collection, which was collected and preserved primarily by Reynolds herself, features over 3,000 costumes including Carmen Miranda's turbans, a pair of Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz (1939), John Wayne's guns and Marilyn Monroe's windswept dress from The Seven Year Itch (1955). Measurements: 33-23-34 (As Miss Burbank of 1948), 33 1/2B-23 1/2-34 1/2 (MGM costumer 1956), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine). Was a member of the International Order of Job's Daughters. Is a past honored Queen of Bethel No. 97, Burbank, California. Is a Past Honored Queen of Bethel No. 97, Burbank, California. In 1969, she followed Doris Day and some of her contemporaries in launching a TV sitcom bearing her name. When the debut episode included an advertisement for cigarettes, a direct violation of one of her contractual stipulations, she made such a fuss about it that NBC ended up cancelling the series. President of The Thalians, an organization for the treatment of mental health at Cedars Sinai in Los Angeles. Ruta Lee is the chairman. Both have been actively involved in building this celebrity run organization for over 30 years. While wanting to be in show-business, Reynolds' family Nazarene church forbade acting. However, Reynolds' father saw her talent and gave his support, seeing it as a means of paying Debbie's college costs. Reynolds' mother then gave her support knowing that there is no evil going on in her movies. Reynolds' mother knew her daughter had talent, but understand why it was happening to her own daughter. Her father entered her in a beauty pageant once when she was very young. She wore a bathing suit that her mother had mended that morning and a pair of her sister's high heels. In January 1996, Debbie Reynolds dedicated the Holland-America Line cruise ship the MS Veendam. One of the few actresses to have danced with both Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly in the movies, other actresses that have also done this includes Judy Garland, Cyd Charisse, Vera-Ellen, Rita Hayworth, and Leslie Caron.