Just the day before the Governors Awards, alongside Mission Impossible actor, she had a viral moment where they improvised a dance at her dance academy's party, captured and shared on social media by Richard Ayoub, executive director of Project Angel Food.
Not many know that the actress is of Cherokee descent from her mother, Vivian Ayers, a revered poet, playwright, and museum curator who passed away last August at 102. Her husband, Andrew Arthur Allen, was an orthodontist, and her older sister is Phylicia Rashad (77), a very popular actress for being Bill Cosby's wife in the series The Cosby Show.
Despite coming from a privileged childhood, Debbie was determined not to settle for less and decided to academically educate herself until she graduated in classical Greek literature, oratory, and theater from the prestigious Harvard University.
During her teenage years, she showed a keen interest in dance and, despite having good technique, she was rejected from several academies for being told that her body was not suitable for ballet. Undeterred, Debbie decided to try her luck in show business, making her Broadway debut in the musical Purlie in 1970, and a decade later she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for West Side Story.
Her first television success came with the series Roots: The Next Generations (1979). Three years later, she achieved worldwide fame by portraying Lydia, the dance teacher in the seriesFame. The one where she motivated her students with the famous line "You've got big dreams, you want fame. Fame costs and right here is where you start paying. In sweat." A true ode to meritocracy.
By then, she had already gone through a divorce. She met her husband, Win Wilford, while both were part of the musical Raising. They married in 1975, and during their marriage, he worked as the publicity manager for CBS Records. They divorced in 1983.
To her second and current husband, former NBA player Norm Nixon (70), she met him while both were on the set of the movie The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh, where numerous NBA stars appeared. Allen and Nixon became good friends, and once the actress divorced and started tasting success with the series Fame, they decided to get married again in 1994.
The couple has two children, actors and dancers Vivian (41) and Norman Jr. (38). Both have worked with their mother in film and television, especially in Grey's Anatomy, where Debbie directed 93 episodes. The veteran actress and choreographer has four grandchildren Shiloh, Aviah, Cashlynn, and Elizabeth.
In an interview with L.A. Parent four years ago, Debbie stated that she always encouraged her children to read, study the classics. It connects you with other people, with the world," and specified that "you have to know your children and guide them from behind. You are there to support, and where they want to go is where they will go. You can't force them to be who you are," Allen added.
Norm initially had a big disappointment when he found out that his son wanted to pursue dance, but eventually gave in. As Norm himself told NPR in 2014, "dancing is as athletic as basketball. The energy, strength, flexibility, and creativity needed to play basketball is not very different from dancing."
Debbie's husband brought another son into the marriage, DeVaughn (42), who is also an actor and even portrayed his father in the series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022). "It's truly a dream come true," confessed the actor.
In her extensive professional career, Debbie Allen has also been an important part of the Oscar ceremony setup as she has been in charge of choreography. As an anecdote, it is worth mentioning that thanks to her, in 1999, Joaquín Cortés (56) made his debut on the Oscar stage with the solo from Life is Beautiful, the winner of the Best Foreign Language Film award.
In 2025, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy celebrated its 25th anniversary.