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Debra Wilson
Wilson at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	New York City, U.S.
Other names	Debra Wilson Skelton Debra Skelton
Alma mater	Syracuse University
Occupations	Actress comedian
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Cliff Skelton ​ ​(m. 2006; sep. 2010)​

Debra Wilson is an American actress and comedian. She is the longest-serving original cast member on the sketch comedy series Mad TV, having appeared on the show's first eight seasons from 1995 to 2003. As a voice actress, she has voiced various characters on television shows and video games, including Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart, Baby Shark's Big Show!, Spitting Image, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Wolfenstein, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Halo Infinite, Diablo IV, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

She also starred in the films The Summerland Project and Bodied. In 2022, Wilson started voicing Daisy Duck on Mickey Mouse Funhouse, making her the first African-American performer of the character.

Early life

Wilson was born and raised in New York City, in the neighborhood of Ozone Park, Queens, and attended the New York City High School of the Performing Arts. After graduation, she studied television and radio broadcasting at Syracuse University. She worked as a preschool teacher during the 1980s for the All Saints Church, in Sunnyside, Queens.

Wilson made her television acting debut on The Apollo Comedy Hour and The Uptown Comedy Club, where she became a series regular. She co-hosted Can We Shop? with Joan Rivers. She continued her work in television working as a spokesperson for Burger King, and guest starring in New York Undercover.

Career

Mad TV

Wilson was one of the original eight cast members of Mad TV when the series aired in 1995. Wilson came to the show with a background in sketch comedy, improv, and television.

Wilson was credited for creating some of the most popular recurring characters on the show. Among her characters were Latina bimbo Melina (Lida and Melina), Reality Check's Tovah McQueen, Stick Chick Autumn, Kappa Kappa Kappa sorority sister Hayden Brooks, Alexis Dubane (Prehistoric Glamazon Huntresses), blaxploitation actress Cocoa Latette (Son of Dolemite), Lowered Expectations Host and Ms. Not Nice (Jenny Jones). Perhaps her best known character was the fast talking "Black American Princess" Bunifa Latifah Halifah Sharifa Jackson.

Wilson's most recognized impressions on the show were of Oprah Winfrey and Whitney Houston. She has also played Oprah or Oprah-like characters in other media, most notably Scary Movie 4 and The Proud Family. She also regularly portrayed Beyoncé Knowles, Mariah Carey, Lil' Kim, and Chris Tucker.

Television

Since her debut on MADtv, Wilson has done voice acting on episodes on numerous television shows, landing some recurring roles on such shows as Clone High, Family Guy, and did puppeteer work on The Mr. Potato Head Show. She voiced Captain Lisa Cusak in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "The Sound of Her Voice".

Wilson has made numerous independent films, including Naked Angel, Jane White Is Sick and Twisted, Skin Deep, and Soulmates. She was also in an episode of Without a Trace as a doctor, and appeared three times as a working girl, Divine, in episodes of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

She and MADtv co-star Nicole Sullivan have done commercials for Pepsi's Sierra Mist. She appeared as herself on the February 15, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro accompanying MADtv castmate Will Sasso in his professional wrestling match against Bret Hart. She also appeared on the UK Whose Line Is It Anyway? – Season 10, Episode 9.

She was the co-host of TV Guide Channel's TV Watercooler with John Fugelsang, until she was replaced by Teresa Strasser in October 2006. She was also a co-host on GSN Live until she left in January 2010.

Wilson is the announcer of the revival of the NBC game show Weakest Link hosted by Jane Lynch.

In July 2022, Nickelodeon announced that Wilson would voice the character Headless Headmistress Bloodgood in the 2022 animated reboot series Monster High.

As of 2022, Wilson voices Daisy Duck, replacing Tress MacNeille.

Theater

Wilson performed off-Broadway with the improvisational comedy troupe Noo Yawk Tawk directed by Richmond Shepard at The Village Gate Theater (1988–1991).

Video games

Wilson has voiced many video game characters, such as her role as Grace Walker in Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus and her role as Cere Junda in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. She also appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as General Lyons. Her other video game voice work includes The Outer Worlds, Gears 5, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Rage 2, Days Gone, Fallout: New Vegas, Fallout 76, and Far Cry New Dawn. She is the voice of Draka in World of Warcraft: Shadowlands. She is the voice of Savathûn in Destiny 2 and the Harbinger in Halo Infinite.

Personal life

Wilson married writer and director Cliff Skelton in April 2006. They separated in 2010 citing irreconcilable differences.

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Web series

Awards and nominations

Notes

1. Also known as Debra Wilson Skelton or Debra Skelton

References

1. West, Diane (October 1, 2006). "Debra Wilson On Success, Snakes and Spirituality". New York Tails.
2. ^ "Debra Wilson Biography". Turner Classic Movies.
3. ^ Fischer, Paul (April 19, 2003). "Debra Gets Twisted". Film Monthly.
4. "New York Undercover Season 2, Episode 1 Cast". TV Guide.
5. Greiving, Tim (May 18, 2016). "An Oral History of MADtv, the Sketch Show That Never Quite Changed Comedy". Vulture.
6. ^ Pantoja, Kevin (May 27, 2019). "10 Funniest Cast Members of MadTV (And Where They Are Now)". ScreenRant. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
7. Carter, Alan (July 2002). "Laugh In". Vibe. Vol. 10, no. 7.
8. ^ Persaud, Christine (May 28, 2019). "Where Are They Now? The Cast of MadTV". ScreenRant. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
9. ^ Mar, Pollo Del (January 27, 2017). "Debra Wilson Talks Queer Legacy of MADtv Whitney Houston Parodies, New Series 'My Sister Is So Gay'". HuffPost.
10. Voger, Mark (April 12, 2013). "'Veep,' 'Madtv' on home video". NJ.com.
11. Punter, Jennie (April 14, 2006). "Scary Movie 4 **½". The Globe and Mail.
12. Rorke, Robert (July 14, 2010). "Oprah comic shuns TV role". The New York Post. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
13. Bastién, Angelica Jade (January 4, 2018). "The Best Episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Ranked". Vulture. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
14. Cordero, Rosy (July 13, 2022). "'Monster High': Tony Revolori, Gabrielle Nevaeh Green & Kausar Mohammed Among 9 Cast In Nickelodeon Series". Deadline. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
15. Shanley, Patrick (November 13, 2019). "'Star Wars' Actor Debra Wilson Is a Prolific Force Among Video Game Performers". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
16. Blizzard Entertainment (September 3, 2020). "Watch Shadowlands Afterlives: Maldraxxus". World of Warcraft. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
17. "This Week At Bungie – 8/26/2021 > News". Bungie. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
18. ""MADTV" STAR Headed for Divorce Court". TMZ. October 5, 2011. Retrieved August 26, 2012.
19. ^ "Debra Wilson (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved August 26, 2023. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.
20. Couch, Aaron (June 16, 2021). "Animated 'Mortal Kombat Legends' Sequel Arriving This Summer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
21. Fallon, Sean (November 3, 2022). "Mortal Kombat Legends: Snow Blind Movie Release Date and 4K Blu-Ray Pre-Order Details". Comic Book. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
22. Rooney, David (July 19, 2023). "Cobweb Review: Lizzy Caplan in a Haunted House Thriller That Starts Strong but Falls Apart". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
23. Otterson, Joe (April 4, 2024). "'Among Us' Animated Series Casts Patton Oswalt, Debra Wilson, Phil LaMarr, Wayne Knight". Variety. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
24. Volatile Games. Dead to Rights: Retribution. Namco Bandai Games. Scene: Ending credits, 2:56 in, Voice Over Cast.
25. Clayton, Peter (August 6, 2019). "Indivisible Cast List Revealed". Indivisible. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
26. "Persona 5 Strikers (2021 Video Game)". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved May 7, 2021A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
27. Macgregor, Jody (October 17, 2021). "Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League trailer has a bunch of callbacks to the Arkham games". PC Gamer. Retrieved August 26, 2023.
28. "20th BAFTA Games Awards: The Nominations". BAFTA. March 7, 2024. Retrieved April 12, 2024.

External links

• Debra Wilson at IMDb 
• Debra Wilson at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

• Living people
• 20th-century African-American actresses
• 20th-century American actresses
• 20th-century American comedians
• 21st-century American actresses
• 21st-century American comedians
• Actresses from Queens, New York
• African-American female comedians
• African-American comedians
• African-American television personalities
• American film actresses
• American puppeteers
• American sketch comedians
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• Television personalities from New York City
• American women comedians
• American women television personalities
• American voice actresses
• Comedians from Queens, New York
• Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni
• Game show announcers
• People from Ozone Park, Queens
• Syracuse University alumni
• 21st-century African-American actresses
• Female puppeteers