[1] She's the daughter of Geraldine Marian (née Bryant), a teacher, and Col. Bertram Roberson Pratt, a vice president of Pullman Heritage Bank.

Colonel Pratt commanded the segregated 827th Tank Destroyer Battalion in Europe during the Second World War and later served in the Illinois National Guard.

Deborah's talent was discovered through a nationwide search that brought her to Los Angeles under contract to NBC, singing and dancing, on The Dean Martin Show with The Golddiggers.

Pratt also acted in feature films, some of which include Exit to Eden, Last Rites, and the cult classic, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone.

Pratt became showrunner—co-creator, executive producer, and head writer—for the Quantum Leap TV series,[5] which was created by her then-husband, Donald Bellisario.

[8] Pratt is a published novelist, having written The Vision Quest (a three-book science fiction/fantasy series) and Age of Eve, as well as an inspirational speaker.