Teri Garr
Acting
Biography
Teri Ann Garr (December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024) was an American actress, dancer and singer. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spanned four decades and includes over 140 credits in film and television. Her accolades include one Academy Award nomination, a BAFTA Award nomination, and one National Board of Review Award. Born in Lakewood, Ohio, Garr was raised in North Hollywood. She was the third child of a comedic-actor father and a studio costumer mother. In her youth, Garr trained in ballet and other forms of dance. She began her career as a teenager with small roles in television and film in the early 1960s, including appearances as a dancer in six Elvis Presley musicals. After spending two years attending college, Garr left Los Angeles and studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Institute in New York City. Her self-described "big break" as an actress was landing a role in the Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth," after which she said, "I finally started to get real acting work." Garr had a supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's thriller "The Conversation" (1974) before having her film breakthrough as Inga in "Young Frankenstein" (1974). In 1977, she was cast in a high-profile role in Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Garr continued to appear in various high-profile roles throughout the 1980s, including supporting parts in the comedies "Tootsie" (1982), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role of Sandra Lester, and then appearing opposite Michael Keaton the next year in "Mr. Mom" (1983). She reunited with Coppola the same year, appearing in his musical "One from the Heart" (1982), followed by a supporting part in Martin Scorsese's black comedy "After Hours" (1985). Her quick banter led to Garr being a regular guest on "The Tonight Show" starring Johnny Carson and "Late Night with David Letterman." In the 1990s, she appeared in two films by Robert Altman: "The Player" (1992) and "Prêt-à-Porter" (1994), followed by supporting roles in "Michael" (1996) and "Ghost World" (2001). She also appeared on television as Phoebe Abbott in three episodes of the sitcom "Friends" (1997–98). In 2002, Garr announced that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, the symptoms of which had negatively affected her ability to perform beginning in the 1990s. After years of declining health, she passed away on October 29, 2024.
Born: December 11, 1944
Place of Birth: Lakewood, Ohio, USA
Known For
Filmography
as Self (archive footage)
as Self (archive footage)
as Suze
as Claire's Mother / Aunt Tilde
as Aunt Judy / Valerie’s Sister
as Inga (archive footage) (uncredited)
as Lorraine Bergman
as Ginnie
as Mayor Molly Quinn (voice)
as self
as Mrs. Abigail Portinbody
as Sandy Gordon (voice)
as Self
as Madame Hugonaut
as Maxine (uncredited)
as Mona Hall
as Tess Malone
as Tess Malone
as Mary McGinnis (voice)
as Mimi Stark
as Minerva Grahame-Bishop
as Helen Lorenzo
as Lee Dilley
as Mrs. Livingston
as Mary McGinnis (voice)
as Mary McGinnis (voice)
as Dr. Zwick
as Fanny
as Rena
as Dionne Waters
as Connie
as Julie Ordwell
as Elizabeth Monroe
as JoAnn McGrath
as Laney (voice)
as Judge Esther Newberg
as Yenta
as Carol
as Self - Guest
as Cindy Dubroski
as Inga (archive footage)
as Laney Tolbert
as Teri (voice)
as Sissy Emerson
as Louise Hamilton
as Helen Swanson
as Phoebe Sr.
as Celinda Randlett
as Mrs. Bickerstaff
as Vanessa La Pert (voice)
as Brita Burrows
as Self
as Nancy (voice)
as Paige Turner
as Marge Nelson
as Teri Garr
as Susan Woolley
as Duchess
as Self
as Randi Thompson
as Denise Sandler
as Sandra McCadden
as Kay
as Jill (of Jack and Jill)
as Carolyn Simpson
as Pam
as Irene Paloma ("segment "The Trap")
as Sunny
as Louise
as Teri Garr
as Helen Eagles
as Self
as Helen Schaefer
as Talon Kensington
as Jean
as Sally Bierston
as Julie
as Self
as Wendy
as Hannah Winter
as Mary Hawley
as Caroline
as Alec Ramsay's Mother
as Self
as Veronica
as Sandy Lester
as Self
as Princess
as Princess
as Arlene
as Self
as Frannie
as Amy McCleary
as Ericka
as Self (segment "Coppola")
as Margaret Lightman
as Kelli Fisher
as Alec's Mother
as Self
as Waitress
as Ronnie Neary
as Frog Princess
as Bobbie Landers
as Susan Cates
as Fluffy Peters
as Rita Wasinski
as Self - Host
as Inga
as Amy Fredericks
as Amber
as Maria Thompson
as Lt. Suzanne Marquette
as Miss Brennan
as Mabel
as Waitress
as Wife/Singer
as Bennie's Girlfriend (uncredited)
as Insurance Agent
as Young Wife
as Sgt. Phyllis Norton
as Corinne
as Waitress
as Testy True
as Cashier
as Teri
as Maggie Philbin
as Dancer (uncredited)
as Usherette
as Whiz Girl
as Roberta Lincoln
as Girl
as Girl Outside Rink (uncredited)
as Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)
as Harem Girl (uncredited)
as Self - Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
as Carnival Dancer (uncredited)
as Pajama Girl
as Self - Dancer
as Shipboard Number Dancer (uncredited)
as Hillbilly Dancer (uncredited)
as Dancer (uncredited)
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
as Self
as Self
as Girl In A Red Convertible
as Self - Presenter