Debra Messing: Too Busy for Birthdays

Former Will & Grace star Debra Messing will turn 40 on Aug. 15 — but this is one milestone she won't be celebrating. Not because she fears the dreaded 4-0, but because she’ll be too busy working.

“It’s hard to believe,” Debra laughed about her lack of a birthday bash to reporters at Sunday night’s NBC party. “I have no plans, not yet. I will be working, shooting on my birthday unless the executive producers make it so I can have the day off.”

But even if she does have to work, Debra says she hopes her parents will come in to celebrate her birthday either the day before or after and “we’re going to be having a really nice dinner.”

The curly-haired beauty is currently wrapped up with shooting the new USA network TV series of The Starter Wife, based on her hit mini-series from last year.

And on the topic of starter wives, Debra, who is married to Damages producer Daniel Zelman, says she's been lucky to not really have first-hand experience in that area.

“Unfortunately, in our culture, people are impatient and aren’t willing to work through difficult times,” Debra reflected. “My parents are still together—45 years—so my model has been that love lasts.”

Her folks have taught her “that you have to work every single day and if you just assume that everything is as wonderful as it was the year before, it’s inevitable you’re going to run into problems. Sharing your life and creating family with someone is the most difficult and most rewarding thing you can do and it takes work every day. No one has perfected marriage.”

By Carole Glines