Born Mary Debra Winger in Cleveland Heights, Ohio to a Jewish family, she spent several years in Israel, and served in the Israel Defense Forces. After returning to the United States, she was involved in an automobile accident and suffered a cerebral haemorrhage as a result. She was left partially paralyzed and blind for ten months, although she was initially told that she would never see again. With time on her hands to think about her life, she decided that, if she recovered, she would move to California and become an actress.

Her first acting role was as Princess Diana's younger sister Drusilla (Wonder Girl) in the Wonder Woman television series. She got her first starring role in Urban Cowboy in 1980, opposite John Travolta for which she received a BAFTA award nomination.

In 1982 she starred opposite Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.

She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Terms of Endearment in 1984, and Best Actress for Shadowlands in 1993 for which she also received her second BAFTA award nomination. In 1995 Winger left the film industry.

In 2001, a critically acclaimed documentary film titled Searching For Debra Winger was made by director/writer/actor Rosanna Arquette and released in 2002 after Winger returned to performing.

Other films include Made in Heaven, Everybody Wins, The Sheltering Sky, Leap of Faith, Black Widow, Betrayed, Wilder Napalm and A Dangerous Woman.

Winger also contributed to the voice of the title character in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, although her role is uncredited.

She also earned an Emmy Award nomination for her performance in Dawn Anna in 2005, marking her return to acting.

She has been married to actor Timothy Hutton and is currently married to actor Arliss Howard, and has a son from each marriage: Noah Hutton (born in 1987) and Babe Ruth Howard (born in 1997). She dated then-Gov. Bob Kerrey while filming Terms of Endearment in Lincoln, Nebraska.