Actress Debbie Reynolds died Dec. 28 at age 84a day after her daughter, Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher died at age 60.
Reynolds starred in dozens of movies. However, she will forever be remembered as Kathy Selden, who wins the heart of Gene Kelly's Don Lockwood, in the 1952 Freed Unit classic Singin' in the Rain.
Even her private life was in the spotlight, no more so than when her husband, singer Eddie Fisher, left her for Elizabeth Taylor. Reynolds married three times.
Some of Reynolds' other movies included Tammy and the Bachelor, Divorce American Style and In and Out ( in which she and Wilford Brimley claimed, in solidarity with their son, that they're gay ). She also became a gay icon to a new generation of people, thanks to her role as Debra Messing's mother on TV's Will & Grace.
Reynolds made news in her final years by auctioning off her collection of Hollywood costumes that included Judy Garland's ruby slippers from The Wizard Of Oz.
The 1990 film Postcards from the Edge ( which Fisher wrote ) was semi-autobiographical, with the character of "Doris Mann" based on Reynolds.
Also see www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/PASSAGES-Actress-Carrie-Fisher-dies/57585.html .