Debra Messing returns to her iconic role as Grace Adler on NBC's "Will & Grace," which begins its final season October. 24.

Messing won an Emmy in 2003 and was nominated on five other occasions for her work on "Will & Grace," as well as also earning seven Golden Globe Award nominations on the series that earned a total of 18 Emmys and 91 nominations. The series remains one of the few in television history where each member of the cast has won an Emmy.

Messing also starred in ABC's three-hour remake of "Dirty Dancing" and previously toplined the NBC series "The Mysteries of Laura" for two seasons. In 2012-13, Messing starred in NBC's "Smash," a musical drama about the creation of a new Broadway show. She was also Emmy and Golden Globe-nominated for the USA Network miniseries "The Starter Wife" in 2007.

On the stage, Messing made her Broadway debut in the 2014 Tony Award-nominated production of John Patrick Shanley's "Outside Mullingar." Messing will return to Broadway in 2020 in a limited engagement of Noah Haidle's "Birthday Candles." Other theater credits include Donald Margulies' Pulitzer Prize finalist "Collected Stories," Paul Rudnick's Off-Broadway play "The Naked Truth" and "Four Dogs and a Bone" by John Patrick Shanley.

Messing's film work includes the critically acclaimed "Searching," the box office hit "Along Came Polly" and "The Wedding Date." Other films on her resume include "The Women," "Nothing Like the Holidays," Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending," "The Mothman Prophecies" and the 2015 indie drama "Like Sunday, Like Rain." Recently, Messing completed production opposite David Cross on "The Dark Divide" and Jon Stewart's "Irresistible."

Messing is the Global Health Ambassador for Population Services International (PSI), which focuses on HIV/AIDS. She has traveled extensively in Africa in this role and in 2010 testified before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations. She was also a key speaker at the 2012 International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C. Other charities Messing supports include Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Everytown for Gun Safety and the Joyful Heart Foundation. She was honored with the Trevor Life Award for her contributions to the LGBT community.

Messing attended Brandeis University and received her Master of Fine Arts from NYU. She resides in New York.