
Teri Garr
Personal Info
Known for
Acting
Gender
Female
Birthday
1944-12-11
Day of Death
2024-10-29 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
Lakewood, Ohio, USA
Teri Garr
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.
Known For
Acting
(2018)
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
as Self (archive footage)
(2013)
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
as Self (archive footage)
(2008)
(2007)
Expired
as Claire's Mother / Aunt Tilde
(2007)
Kabluey
as Suze
(2006)
Unaccompanied Minors
as Aunt Judy / Valerie’s Sister
(2005)
Aloha Scooby-Doo!
as Mayor Molly Quinn (voice)
(2005)
A Taste Of Jupiter
as Ginnie
(2005)
(2004)
The Dream Studio
as self
(2002)
Searching for Debra Winger
as Self
(2002)
Life Without Dick
as Madame Hugonaut
(2001)
(2001)
The Sky is Falling
as Mona Hall
(2001)
Ghost World
as Maxine (uncredited)
(2001)
The Wandering Soul Murders
as Tess Malone
(2001)
A Colder Kind of Death
as Tess Malone
(2000)
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
as Mary McGinnis (voice)
(1999)
Dick
as Helen Lorenzo
(1999)
Batman Beyond: The Movie
as Mary McGinnis (voice)
(1999)
Kill the Man
as Mrs. Livingston
(1999)
Half a Dozen Babies
as Lee Dilley
(1998)
Casper Meets Wendy
as Fanny
(1997)
A Simple Wish
as Rena
(1997)
The Definite Maybe
as Dionne Waters
(1997)
Changing Habits
as Connie
(1997)
Ronnie and Julie
as Elizabeth Monroe
(1997)
NightScream
as Julie Ordwell
(1997)
Murder Live!
as JoAnn McGrath
(1996)
Michael
as Judge Esther Newberg
(1996)
Double Jeopardy
as Cindy Dubroski
(1996)
Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein
as Inga (archive footage)
(1995)
Perfect Alibi
as Laney Tolbert
(1995)
Shining Time Station: One of the Family
as Sister Conductor
(1994)
Dumb and Dumber
as Helen Swanson
(1994)
Aliens for Breakfast
as Mrs. Bickerstaff
(1994)
Prêt-à-Porter
as Louise Hamilton
(1993)
Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert
as Brita Burrows
(1992)
The Player
as Teri Garr
(1992)
Mom and Dad Save the World
as Marge Nelson
(1992)
Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View
as Susan Woolley
(1992)
Robert Altman's Players
as Self
(1991)
Stranger in the Family
as Randi Thompson
(1991)
(1990)
A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder
as Marsha Pegler
(1990)
Short Time
as Carolyn Simpson
(1990)
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
as Jill (of Jack and Jill)
(1990)
Waiting for the Light
as Kay
(1989)
Let It Ride
as Pam
(1989)
Out Cold
as Sunny
(1988)
Full Moon in Blue Water
as Louise
(1988)
(1988)
Flapjack Floozie
as Helen Eagles
(1987)
Pack of Lies
as Helen Schaefer
(1987)
Paul Reiser: Out on a Whim
as Self
(1986)
Miracles
as Jean
(1986)
Intimate Strangers
as Sally Bierston
(1985)
After Hours
as Julie
(1985)
(1985)
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self
(1984)
To Catch a King
as Hannah Winter
(1984)
Firstborn
as Wendy
(1984)
(1983)
The Sting II
as Veronica
(1983)
The Black Stallion Returns
as Alec Ramsay's Mother
(1983)
Do It Debbie's Way
as Self
(1983)
Mr. Mom
as Caroline
(1983)
The Winter of Our Discontent
as Mary Hawley
(1982)
Tootsie
as Sandy Lester
(1982)
The Escape Artist
as Arlene
(1982)
The Tale of the Frog Prince
as Princess
(1982)
Prime Suspect
as Amy McCleary
(1982)
One from the Heart
as Frannie
(1981)
Honky Tonk Freeway
as Ericka
(1981)
(1981)
Rendez-Vous Video Magazine
as Self (segment "Coppola")
(1980)
Witches' Brew
as Margaret Lightman
(1980)
Doctor Franken
as Kelli Fisher
(1979)
The Black Stallion
as Alec's Mother
(1979)
Mr. Mike's Mondo Video
as Self
(1979)
Java Junkie
as Waitress
(1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
as Ronnie Neary
(1977)
Once Upon a Brothers Grimm
as Frog Princess
(1977)
Oh, God!
as Bobbie Landers
(1977)
The Absent-Minded Waiter
as Susan Cates
(1977)
(1976)
Law and Order
as Rita Wasinski
(1976)
Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
as Fluffy Peters
(1974)
The Conversation
as Amy Fredericks
(1974)
Young Frankenstein
as Inga
(1971)
Summertree
as Bennie's Girlfriend (uncredited)
(1970)
The Moonshine War
as Young Wife
(1970)
You Haven't Changed a Bit
as Corinne
(1969)
Changes
as Waitress
(1968)
Head
as Testy True
(1968)
Maryjane
as Teri
(1967)
Clambake
as Dancer (uncredited)
(1967)
(1967)
The Cool Ones
as Whiz Girl
(1966)
(1966)
Where's the Bus?
as Girl
(1965)
Red Line 7000
as Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)
(1965)
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
as Harem Girl (uncredited)
(1964)
What a Way to Go!
as Shipboard Number Dancer (uncredited)
(1964)
Viva Las Vegas
as Dancer (uncredited)
(1964)
Roustabout
as Carnival Dancer (uncredited)
(1964)
Pajama Party
as Pajama Girl
(1964)
Kissin' Cousins
as Hillbilly Dancer (uncredited)
(1964)
The T.A.M.I. Show
as Self - Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
(1963)
Fun in Acapulco
as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
(1963)