In 1990, after graduating "summa cum laude" from Brandeis University with a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts, Messing gained admission to the elite Graduate Acting Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts which accepts approximately fifteen new students annually.
Ko je imela Debra Messing tri leta, se je s starši in starejšim bratom Brettom preselila v East Greenwich, majhno mesto zunaj Providencea, Rhode Island.