I really feel like I haven't fully articulated it till now and really spoke candidly till now... When I heard the news about Prince and the fact that it might have been prescription drug-related, I really had a moment of, like, "That's awful and that's sad — and I can relate." And, unfortunately, 90 percent of the entertainment community can relate. I remember being on the road at, like, 25, touring with theater and doing my own cocktail of Tylenol PM and Xanax. It's like, "Oh, I found a way to make the Xanax last longer with the Tylenol PM. I mean, it's as simple as that, and that is how performers get in so much trouble."
Gibson spent much of 1986 and the beginning of 1987 building her songwriting catalog while continuing to play club dates. Continuing her promotional tour, Gibson also continued attending classes at Calhoun High School in Merrick, New York, from whence she later graduated as an honor student. Diane Gibson, Debbie's mother and manager, accompanied her daughter on many of these track dates. "We played dance clubs, straight clubs and gay clubs", Diane has said.
In 1987, while performing around the United States at nightclub venues, Gibson was recording her debut album, Out of the Blue. It was recorded in four weeks. Four singles from the album reached the Top 5 of the Hot 100 chart: "Only in My Dreams", "Shake Your Love", "Out of the Blue", and the number-one hit "Foolish Beat", followed by "Staying Together", which performed more modestly, reaching No. 22. "Foolish Beat" set a record for Gibson, making her (at 17) the youngest Artist ever to have written, produced, and performed a Billboard number-one single, as entered in the 1988 Guinness Book of World Records. She remains the youngest female Artist to have done so. Out of the Blue was established as a hit album and she had success in the UK and southeast Asia, filling stadiums with her Out of the Blue tour. By the end of 1988, Out of the Blue had gone triple platinum.
Gibson co-hosted Nickelodeon's first Kids' Choice Awards in 1988, alongside Tony Danza, Brian Robbins, and Dan Schneider.
Over the years, Gibson has been the target of stalkers. Robert Bardo, who was convicted for murdering Actress Rebecca Schaeffer in 1989, had a wall in his house adorned with pictures of Gibson and Tiffany. In May 1998, Michael Falkner, a disgruntled fan from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, was arrested outside Manhattan's Palace Theater, where Gibson was performing in the live musical adaptation of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. This was after Gibson received threatening letters, emails and faxes from Falkner, who used the alias 'Starcade'. In 2008, Gibson filed for a restraining order against Spanish taxi driver Jorge Puigdollers, who had stalked her since 2002. However, a temporary restraining order was not issued by the court, and a court date was set to determine if a restraining order was appropriate in the matter. The proceeding was dismissed when Gibson failed to show up at the courthouse for the hearing to present her case.
She recorded two more albums for Atlantic Records: Anything Is Possible (1990) and Body Mind Soul (1993). "Anything Is Possible", co-written with Motown mainstay Lamont Dozier, peaked at No. 26 on Billboard's Hot 100 in 1991. Subsequent singles from Anything Is Possible failed to chart on the Hot 100, although "One Step Ahead" scored on the Hot Maxi Singles and Hot Dance charts, peaking at No. 21 and No. 18 respectively. Body Mind Soul spawned another minor hit in "Losin' Myself", which was accompanied by a controversial video clip, which Matthew Rolston directed, that featured Gibson as a stripper. The second single from the album, "Shock Your Mama", became a minor hit in Europe and the UK, however "Losin' Myself" was Debbie Gibson's last appearance on the Billboard Hot 100.
Deborah Gibson debuted on Broadway in 1992, playing Eponine in Les Misérables. She then went to London and starred as Sandy in Grease—a role 800 other girls tried out for before producers chose Gibson—in a West End production. The show broke box office sales records. The single version of "You're the One That I Want", a duet with Craig McLachlan, taken from the Original Cast Recording, reached No. 13 on the UK charts in 1993.
In 1995, she signed with EMI's SBK Records division and recorded her only album for the label, Think With Your Heart. It was an Adult contemporary-heavy album consisting of piano and keyboard ballads recorded predominantly with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album's Producer, Niko Bolas, who was usually Neil Young's co-producer, was producing the reunion album for veteran punk band Circle Jerks, and invited Gibson to a recording session for that band's album. She sang background vocals on the song "I Wanna Destroy You", as well as appearing at and participating in the Circle Jerks' performance at punk venue CBGB, wearing one of the band's T-shirts and sharing a microphone with frontman Keith Morris.
After parting company with EMI, Gibson formed her own record label, Espiritu, to release her original material. Her sixth album, Deborah (1996), marked her full return to dance-pop. Deborah includes the lead single "Only Words". "Only Words" (Dance Edit) became a Top 40 Hot Dance Music/Club Play hit. The album's other single was the ballad, "Naturally". Though it only sold 20,000 in the US, Deborah remains well-respected.
On returning to the States, she appeared in the Broadway touring production, this time playing Rizzo. She played Fanny Brice in a revamped Funny Girl tour. She has had many successful theater credits; she was among the many actresses who took the starring role of Belle in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast. She replaced Kerry Butler in September 1997 and was in the show until June 1998 when she was then succeeded by Kim Huber. She also starred the critically lauded production of Gypsy (in a production staged at The Paper Mill Playhouse). She starred as Louise opposite Broadway legend Betty Buckley. She participated in the national tour of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, where she played as The Narrator, and starred as Cinderella in the national tour of Rodgers & Hammerstein's musical with Eartha Kitt as the Fairy Godmother. In October 2002, she starred as Velma Kelly in the Boston production of Chicago. In 2003, she played Sally Bowles in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. From March to April 2004, she played the role of 'Marta' in the UCLA Reprise! production of Company.
In 1998, she sang the song, "I Do", which is featured on the Soundtrack to the film, The Naked Man. The lyrics to the song were composed by the co-writer of the film, Ethan Coen. The Soundtrack has never been released.
In 2001, she released her seventh album on her new record label, Golden Egg, titled M.Y.O.B.---i.e. Mind Your Own Business. It featured three singles: the sensual pop song "What You Want", the Latin-infused Dance-pop song "Your Secret", and the bass heavy "M.Y.O.B." Highlights from the album include the sultry Latin-flavored smooth jazz song "In Blue", a vintage style ballad "Wishing You Were Here", "Jaded", and a remix of "M.Y.O.B." with the background vocals of her two nieces.
In mid-2003, Gibson was a judge on the American Idol spin-off American Juniors which lasted one season. In January 2006, she joined the cast of Skating with Celebrities on Fox Television, partnered with former Canadian World Champion figure skater Kurt Browning. She was voted out in the third episode.
In November 2005, it was announced that Debbie would go on tour with The O'Neill Brothers for "Someone You Love Tour" in 2006. "Lost in Your Eyes" was revamped with an acoustic sound and a song "Someone You Love" was written and performed by Debbie and The O'Neill Brothers. These two songs also appeared on The O'Neill Brothers album Someone You Love.
On November 14, 2006, Gibson released the song "Famous" on her official website. The song was written by Gibson and Tiziano Lugli, and was produced by Lugli.
Gibson was a judge for the online talent competition, Total Pop Star, along with Andrew Van Slee (producer and judge), and Joey Lawrence (from Blossom). The first season ran from Nov 12, 2007 – May 30, 2008, though it was later extended to June. The show ended abruptly during the 2nd season.
Gibson was once engaged to Jonathan Kanterman and has been in a long-term relationship since 2008 with Rutledge Taylor.
Gibson co-starred with actor Lorenzo Lamas in the low-budget action/adventure film Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus, produced by The Asylum and released on May 19, 2009. The film drew in 2 million viewers on Syfy in 2009. Its trailer became a viral hit, scoring over one million hits on MTV.com and YouTube. The film premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Gibson's former music rival Tiffany had her film Necrosis (a.k.a. Blood Snow) premiere at the Cannes as well.
In 2010, the album Ms. Vocalist, from Sony Japan was Top 10 on the Japanese Billboard chart and the first single from the album, "I Love You", hit No. 1.
Gibson competed on the fifth season of The Celebrity Apprentice, which began airing on February 19, 2012. On the fourth task, she won $50,000 for her charity, Children International. Gibson was fired on April 1, 2012 in the seventh task because she had brought in the least amount of money between her teammates in the boardroom, Dayana Mendoza and Teresa Giudice. While both Mendoza and Giudice were arguably weaker candidates going forward, given that Mendoza was cited as the women's weakest link and Giudice had failed the task as project manager, Gibson was fired instead.
Gibson has been battling Lyme disease since early 2013.
Gibson reprised her role as Emma McNeil in the 2014 film Mega Shark Versus Mecha Shark.
She starred in the UP TV movie called The Music in Me alongside Gloria Reuben in 2015. The movie also featured an original song called "Promises", written and performed by Gibson.
In 2016, she appeared on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, where she spoke out about her drug use in the past, after the death of singer Prince:
On September 6, 2017, Gibson was announced as one of the celebrities who would compete on the 25th season of Dancing with the Stars. She is paired with first time pro-dancer, Alan Bersten. On September 26, 2017, Gibson and Bersten were the second couple eliminated coming in 12th place.
