Born Mary Debra Winger in Cleveland Heights, Ohio to a Jewish family, she spent several years in Israel, and served in the Israel Defense Forces. After returning to the United States, she was involved in an automobile accident and suffered a cerebral hemorrhage as a result. She was left partially paralyzed and blind for ten months, although she was initially told that she would never see again. With time on her hands to think about her life, she decided that, if she recovered, she would move to California and become an actress.From 1986 to 1990 she was married to actor Timothy Hutton and is currently married (since 1996) to actor Arliss Howard, and has a son from each marriage: Noah Hutton (born in 1987) and Babe Howard (born in 1997). She dated then-Gov. Bob Kerrey while filming Terms of Endearment in Lincoln, Nebraska.
