Teri Garr has become one of Hollywood's most versatile, energetic, and well-recognized actresses. She has starred in many memorable films, including Young Frankenstein, Oh, God!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Mr. Mom. She also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Tootsie.
Teri can claim a career in show business by birthright. She was born in Hollywood, the daughter of Edward Garr, a Broadway stage and film actor, and Phyllis Garr, a dancer. While still an infant, her family moved from Hollywood to New Jersey. After the death of her father when she was 11, her family returned to Hollywood, where her mother became a wardrobe mistress for movies and television. By the age of 13, Teri had already made her debut as a professional dancer with a San Francisco-based ballet company, which led to her first television appearance on the music/dance show Shindig. She attended Cal State University-Northridge, where she majored in speech and dance.
While Teri's dancing can be seen in nine Elvis Presley movies, her first speaking role in motion pictures was in the 1968 feature Head, starring The Monkees. Teri is also well known for her movie roles in The Black Stallion, One From The Heart, After Hours, The Escape Artist, Firstborn, Let It Ride, Full Moon in Blue Water, Out Cold, Short Time, Waiting for the Light, Mom and Dad Save the World, Michael, A Perfect Alibi, and Robert Altman's Pret-A-Porter. Teri was also seen in Ghost World, Life Without Dick, and Searching for Debra Winger.
In the '70s, she became well established in television with appearances on Star Trek, It Takes a Thief, McCloud, and appeared as a regular on The Sonny and Cher Show as Cher's friend, Olivia. Her other varied television performances include the CBS-TV sitcom Women of The House, starring opposite Delta Burke; a starring role in the ABC-TV sitcom, Good and Evil; the CBS sitcom, Good Advice; the NBC-TV movie, Fugitive Nights opposite Sam Elliott; Deliver Them From Evil: The Taking of Alta View; Stranger in the Family; and the HBO series Dream On. Teri did a hilarious turn as the birth mother of television's most popular ditz, Phoebe, (played by Lisa Kudrow) on NBC's hit sitcom Friends. Previously, fans were treated to Teri's return to television in two NBC telefilms: Murder Live! and Night Screams.
In October 2002, Teri announced publicly that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Since then, Teri has become a leading advocate in raising awareness for MS and the latest treatments for the disease. She is currently an MS LifeLines Ambassador. In this role, she travels around the United States speaking about her experience and empowering others with MS to educate themselves about the disease and to seek treatment early. The ambassadors serve as an example and resource in the MS community by providing guidance, support, and empowerment about living well with MS. MS LifeLines is an educational support service for people living with MS and their families sponsored by Serono Inc. and Pfizer Inc.
Teri lives is Los Angeles with her family.