Cosmo Honors Will & Grace's Messing

ByABC News
January 18, 2001, 2:11 PM

January 17 -- Wacky redhead Debra Messing, who stars as a neurotic designer in NBC's Will & Grace, has been named Cosmopolitan magazine's "Fun Fearless Female of 2000."

Messing, who will be a nice break from all the bones and breasts that normally parade on Cosmo's cover, was honored for her "professional and romantic resume," the women's pub said in a statement. Will & Grace has had a banner year earning Golden Globe noms for its entire cast and three Emmys while Messing married her longtime beau, screenwriter Daniel Zelman, in a Southern California-style resort wedding.

Other women honored for their "awesome achievements" include Bridget Jones' Diary author Helen Fielding, The Sopranos' Drea de Matteo, sultry actress Bo Derek, MTV's Ananda Lewis and Molly Sims, and 19-year-old actress Julia Stiles, whose Save the Last Dance just beat Tom Hanks' Cast Away to take the No. 1 slot at the box office.

Also making the cut were Survivor runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth, pop singer Vitamin C, and Broadway singer Heather Headley. Uh, we'd like to ask Cosmo to elaborate on Kelly's "achievements," which, as far as we can tell, include whining on national TV, being arrested for domestic violence, and using a stolen credit card to pay for a meal at the Olive Garden not quite the stuff of, say, Messing's Emmy nomination.

Winners will be honored at a luncheon Jan. 29 in New York City.