Who can forget the 80’s pop sensation known for such chart-topping hits as “Only in My Dreams” and “Foolish Beat?” I, for one, was such a devoted fan, my then-boyfriend dubbed me his Gibson Girl. She and I, in fact, shared some common traits: we both grew up on Long Island, N.Y.; we had musical theatre backgrounds—and oh, could we wear those acid-washed jeans well… (OK, so maybe she could a bit better than me.) But unlike so many teen stars that catapult to fame too fast and then fade away from the spotlight just as quickly, Debbie (or Deborah, as the adult performer came to be called) remained a fixture in the entertainment biz. From stints on Broadway (remember her as Belle in “Beauty and the Beast?”), to performing a regional one-woman show, she has kept her name out there and cultivated a new generation of fans.

Maybe that’s why her mentoring gigs, Deborah Gibson’s Electric Youth performing arts boot camps and the Gibson Girl Scholarship Foundation, are such impressive additions to her roster of accomplishments. We’ll surely be rooting for her when she takes on fellow 80’s singer Tiffany (“I Think We’re Alone Now”) in the SyFy movie “Mega Python vs. Gatoroid” sometime next year. Stay tuned, fellow Gibson Girl fans…