AllMovie

Factsheet

• At 12 years old, entered a songwriter's contest and won $1,000 for the tune "I Come From America."
• Became the youngest person to produce, write and sing a No. 1 single when the song "Foolish Beat" reached the top of the charts; it also landed her in the Guinness Book of World Records.
• Made movie debut as an extra in the 1984 comedy Ghostbusters. 
• Debut album, Out of the Blue, was released in 1987.  
• In early 1990s, in an effort to be taken more seriously, changed first name from Debbie to Deborah.
• Spent a significant part of her entertainment career doing theater, beginning with a turn in the 1992 Broadway production of Les Misérables as Eponine. 
• Has appeared on several reality shows, including Fox's American Juniors (2003) and Skating with Celebrities (2006), and NBC's Celebrity Apprentice (2012). 
• Featured in a 2005 pictorial for Playboy magazine.
• Inducted into the Hall of Fame of her alma mater, Sanford H. Calhoun High School, in March 2012.