GRACE ADLER

'Grace Elizabeth Adler-Markus' (born April 26, 1967) is a fictional character on the popular American sitcom ''Will & Grace'', portrayed by Debra Messing. She is a Jewish interior designer (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.

Contents

Fictional character history

Trivia

See also

Fictional character history

Grace is born on April 26 1967, in Schenectady, New York. She has been particularly influenced by her mother, Bobbi (Debbie Reynolds), an overly dramatic actress. She also constantly strives for the affection of her father Martin (Alan Arkin), competing with her two sisters (one older, one younger), who have more obvious problems than she (Joyce, played by Sara Rue, is a mentally slow compulsive overeater, while Janet, portrayed by Geena Davis, is marginally employed and promiscuous). Grace herself is decidedly selfish and neurotic, but it 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 Rita Hayworth (once even thinking a photo of Hayworth was one of herself). This however, leads to her being taken down a peg, and she is usually the butt of numerous jokes by other characters.
Grace has become infamous for her string of boyfriends, many played by famous 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 while working in Cambodia. In season 8, the two reunited briefly during a flight to London when they coincidentally met on the plane. This one-night tryst led to Grace getting pregnant, but she didn't tell Leo because he was engaged to another woman. However, in the series finale, she and Leo reunited and raised the baby, a girl named Lila, together. Lila then went on to attend college with and eventually marries Will and Vince's son, Ben.
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 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, a boyfriend of Will's, so that he could get a green card. They broke off the relationship a few days later.
Aside from Will, she also has a strong relationship with her secretary, Karen Walker, a rich, alcoholic socialite who does virtually no secretarial work. Karen is nevertheless useful to Grace, as she pays for her employer's health insurance and occasionally uses her society connections to help Grace get work. Otherwise, Karen spends her "work" hours harassing Grace, her 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. Grace and Karen became close over the years. Grace once commented to a man (played by Andy Garcia) who had refused to ask Karen out on a second date that, "I've kissed Karen more times than I can count, and I've ''always'' felt something."

Trivia

★ Grace is known for her keen sense of smell. She once estimated the cooking time of a lamb though a heating vent, and could also tell that milk would go bad in twelve hours. In these scenes, Will asks "How do you do that?" and she dryly replies "It's a gift."

★ Is a Democrat

★ She also loves to sing, although she has very questionable talent. In one scene, she was sitting in her apartment singing "Hey Ya!" and her phone rang. She responds, "Hello? ... I'm sorry, I'll stop." Another time she went to a Joni Mitchell concert and was asked to leave for singing too loudly -- by Joni. And on the night of her wedding with Leo, in Season 5, "Marry Me a Little", Will interrupts her singing "Through the Eyes of Love" by announcing the "salads are out"

★ Is allergic to bees

★ Grace, like her mother, has a horrible desire to always be right, and when they prove someone wrong they break into dance while singing 'Told ya so! Told ya so!'

★ Her great-grandmother was Russian

★ Height: 5'8"

★ Her friends always tease her that she had her nose done or fixed

★ Grace lost her virginity to a guy named Ira, who is now a nurse

★ Grace always picks fight with Val, in Season 1, "Grace, Replaced", Season 2, "Girls, Interrupted", Season 4, "Fagel Attraction", and Season 7, "One Gay at a Time"

★ In an episode in Season 4, "Star-Spangled Banter", Will accuses Grace of peeing standing up

★ Used "prayer" as her first method of birth control

★ Doesn't like to shave her legs. Will makes a joke about how infrequently it happens, and Leo once mistakes her legs with Will's cleanly shaven legs when the three are lying in bed together. There is a general running joke about her being slovenly and unladylike, which plays against Will's neurotic ways for comic effect.

★ Karen often teases how flat-chested Grace is, comparing them to her own more normal sized breasts

★ Likes to eat pretty much any kind of food. Also has a sweet tooth; loves to eat cakes. Grace is often seen eating or talking about eating, which is ironic in a way since Debra Messing was visibly very skinny before she got pregnant.

★ Has a fear of needles, and she therefore can't say the name "Ringo", because "he was a Beatle, and Beatle rhymes with needle!"

★ Doesn't like to exercise or engage in outdoor activities. This is evident when she describes her honeymoon with Leo to Will.

★ Grace thinks Jelly Beans should be free

★ Likes to watch TV

See also

★ List of fictitious Jews