BORN: August 31, 1970, Long Island, NY
Full name: Deborah Ann Gibson
Confirmation name: Marie
Religious denomination: Catholic
Date of birth: August 31, 1970
Place of birth: Brooklyn, New York
Education: Sanford H. Calhoun High School, June 1988
Marital Status: Single
Deborah Gibson started her career at a young age. She got experience in theater by playing roles in plays like "A Christmas Carol", "Annie" and "Mickey Mouse and Friends". At age 12, she started songwriting seriously.
She was part of the Metropolitan Opera for several years, doing opera's like "Hansel und Gretel", "La Boheme" and "Le Rossignol", some of which meant singing in a foreign language.
Deborah got her first recording contract at age 16, for a 12" aimed at the dance market. Late 1986, "Only in my Dreams" was released, a song she had written three years prior. After it became a hit, 6 months of hard work performing at various clubs later, she recorded her first album, titled "Out of the Blue". It went triple platinum, just like her second album "Electric Youth", which was released in January 1989. With the song "Foolish Beat" she set a record: she became the youngest artist in chart history to have written, produced, and performed a Number 1 song.
After Deborah's third album, "Anything is Possible", she made her broadway debut as Eponine in the musical "Les Miserables". She continued her efforts in theater by appearing as Sandy in the musical "Grease" on London's West End for a period of nine months, shortly after she had released her fourth album "Body Mind Soul". Her fifth album, called "Think With Your Heart", once more showed her abilities as a songwriter, musician, singer and producer. It contains mostly ballads with Deborah playing piano, accompanied by an orchestra.
Deborah played Betty Rizzo in the National Touring Company of Grease. She was part of the cast from October 29 1995 through March 3 1996, touring through the USA and performing in 19 different cities in a usually sold out theatre. Deborah recorded her sixth album, "Deborah", in the summer of 1996, after which she starred as Fanny Brice in a brief revival of the musical "Funny Girl". She continued showing her passion for theatre by playing Belle in the Broadway musical "Beauty and the Beast" for nine months, followed by starring as Gypsy Rose Lee in the Papermill Playhouse production of Gypsy, playing the narrator in the US touring production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and the title role in the US touring production of Cinderella.
On March 6, 2001, she released her seventh studio album, titled "M.Y.O.B. (Mind Your Own Business)".
Besides her own career, she has written and/or produced material for several other artists (Chris Cuevas, Ana, the Party, Jobeth Taylor) and regularly participates on 'various artists' albums benefiting charities. She surprised many, including her own fans, by singing backup vocals for a song on the last Circle Jerks album.
Deborah has an upbeat, caring, open-minded, ambitious and family-oriented personality. In her career she has always had the support of her family. Her mother, Diane, is also her manager. Her sisters have also helped from the start by doing things like designing her stage-outfits, sound engineering and running the fan club.
She supports several charities, among which are the Pediatric AIDS Foundation, the Make-A-Wish Foundation and St. Mary's Children & Families Foundation. The latter is a home for abused, orphaned and/or neglected children. Deborah's father, Joe Gibson, has spent several years there. After listing those causes, it should come as no surprise that Deborah is very fond of children. She hasn't got any of her own yet, but has stated that she definitely wants several children, of her own as well as adopted.
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