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Hi, I'm Debra Wanger
I started my career as an assistant at CAA under Michael Ovitz, working around actors like Donald Sutherland, Patrick Dempsey, Halle Berry, and Antonio Banderas. I later worked as a talent manager. I've been yelled at by some of the most powerful people in Hollywood — and decided performing was just as hard, but a lot more fun.
So I went back to it. I trained as an actor, earned my MFA in musical theatre, and built a career on stage. And that's when the real story starts: I burned out. Exhausted, overweight, stressed, breaking out — and every doctor, including the holistic ones, told me "everything's normal." Nobody was looking at the whole picture.
That search for real answers is what led me to biohacking then Functional Diagnostic Nutrition — and to a career I didn't see coming: helping performers, speakers, and high-achievers get their bodies and nervous systems back on their side.
I’m more excited than ever to provide a great selection of functional wellness tools and experience to provide real help for people looking to improve their health and outlook on life.
We have so many options from the worlds of functional lab testing, nutritional science, biohacking, habit change and personal presence to bring you real change, happiness and satisfaction with your physical future. I’ve done the research and created success for clients, so let’s start discussing your needs and make progress toward your goals.
I'm not a coach who read about performance stress in a textbook. I've stood in the wings shaking before a show. I know what it costs when your body doesn't show up for you — and exactly how to fix it.
Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner
Immune-Centric Certified Coach
Mindvalley Certified Coach
Human Potential Institute Certified Coach
Dave Asprey Upgrade Collective Coach
Amazon bestselling author of The Resilient Actor: How to Kick Ass in the Business (Without It Kicking Your Ass) & The Resilient Actor's Workbook & Planner
Who do I help?
ACTORS & PERFORMERS
Because "the show must go on" shouldn't mean running on fumes, cortisol, and coffee.
public speakers & high-achievers
Your voice, focus, and energy on stage start with what's happening in your gut, hormones, and nervous system.
anyone who's heard "everything looks normal"
...and knows it isn't.
We dig deeper with real lab data.
My Bio & Background
My most important qualification: I am a person, an actor and a single mom who used to be exhausted, burnt out, overweight, stressed and broken out. I kept asking doctors (including holistic ones) for help. All I would hear is that “everything is normal” or “it’s just part of aging” or they would play whack-a-mole treating one symptom at a time. Things never really improved. Only when I found the FDN methodology of looking at my whole health picture, applying my health & life coaching skills with a full 360-degree review of all my body systems, was I able to really move the needle on healing. I want to free people who are frustrated with the traditional medical paradigm and not getting the answers they need.
Okay, so now my formal training & qualifications…
I am a board-certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner, Certified Human Potential Coach and Immune-Centric Coach. My certifications are with Joel Greene, Mindvalley and the Human Potential Institute Certified Coach Training Program with Dave Asprey (the founder of Bulletproof & Upgrade Labs) & British physician, Dr. Mark Atkinson.
My passion for biohacking and health helps others avoid the health pitfalls I experienced early in my own career. I continue to study up on the latest longevity and weight loss science, and bring it to my clients in a playful, accessible manner. I translate the nutritional science into English. I am also an Upgrade Collective Community Coach, leading the weight loss & fasting special interest group. I have helped my clients lose weight, gain mental clarity, triumph over fatigue, and reignite their professional passion.
I graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University and received a Masters of Fine Arts in musical theatre from San Diego State University, where I graduated Phi Kappa Phi as a Marion Ross Scholar. I worked as a professional actor from the age of 18 in various cities all over the country. I decided to take a hiatus from performing to explore the “other side of the table.”
This ultimately led me to a health journey- first finding the health answers for myself and then helping others lose weight, improve their mood, manage their stress and find a healthy balance in their lives. I'm not a coach who read about performance stress in a textbook. I've stood in the wings shaking before a show. I know what it costs when your body doesn't show up for you — and exactly how to fix it.