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Teri Garr

Teri Garr

Birthday: 1944-12-11 | Place of Birth: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Teri Ann Garr (born December 11, 1944) is a retired American actress, dancer and singer. She frequently appeared in comedic roles throughout her career, which spans 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 is 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.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

2007
Expired

as    Claire's Mother / Aunt Tilde

2007
Kabluey

as    Suze

2005
Aloha Scooby-Doo!

as    Mayor Molly Quinn (voice)

2002
Life Without Dick

as    Madame Hugonaut

2001
The Wandering Soul Murders

as    Tess Malone

1999
Dick

as    Helen Lorenzo

1999
Batman Beyond: The Movie

as    Mary McGinnis (voice)

1998
Casper Meets Wendy

as    Fanny

1997
Changing Habits

as    Connie

1997
Ronnie and Julie

as    Elizabeth Monroe

1997
A Simple Wish

as    Rena

1995
Perfect Alibi

as    Laney Tolbert

1995
Women of the House

as    Sissy Emerson

1994
Dumb and Dumber

as    Helen Swanson

1993
Good Advice

as    Paige Turner

1992
Mom and Dad Save the World

as    Marge Nelson

1991
Stranger in the Family

as    Randi Thompson

1990
Short Time

as    Carolyn Simpson

1990
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme

as    Jill (of Jack and Jill)

1989
Let It Ride

as    Pam

1989
Out Cold

as    Sunny

1988
Full Moon in Blue Water

as    Louise

1987
Pack of Lies

as    Helen Schaefer

1986
Miracles

as    Jean

1986
Fresno

as    Talon Kensington

1986
Fresno

as    Talon Kensington