Teri Garr
Born December 11, 1944 (Age: 81)
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Lakewood, Ohio, USA
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.
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.
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Filmography
Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
2018
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as Self (archive footage)
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Age: 73
Kabluey
2007
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as Suze
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Age: 62
Expired
2007
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as Claire's Mother / Aunt Tilde
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Age: 62
Unaccompanied Minors
2006
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as Aunt Judy (uncredited)
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Age: 61
The Dream Studio
2004
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as self
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Age: 59
Searching for Debra Winger
2002
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as Self
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Age: 57
Life Without Dick
2002
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as Madame Hugonaut
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Age: 57
Ghost World
2001
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as Maxine (uncredited)
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Age: 56
A Colder Kind of Death
2001
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as Tess Malone
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Age: 56
Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker
2000
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as Mary McGinnis (voice)
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Age: 56
Dick
1999
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as Helen Lorenzo
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Age: 54
Casper Meets Wendy
1998
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as Fanny
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Age: 53
A Simple Wish
1997
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as Rena
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Age: 52
The Definite Maybe
1997
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as Dionne Waters
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Age: 52
Changing Habits
1997
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as Connie
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Age: 52
NightScream
1997
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as Julie Ordwell
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Age: 52
Ronnie and Julie
1997
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as Elizabeth Monroe
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Age: 52
Murder Live!
1997
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as JoAnn McGrath
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Age: 52
Michael
1996
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as Judge Esther Newberg
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Age: 52
Double Jeopardy
1996
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as Cindy Dubroski
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Age: 51
Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein
1996
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as Inga (archive footage)
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Age: 51
Prêt-à-Porter
1994
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as Louise Hamilton
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Age: 50
Dumb and Dumber
1994
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as Helen Swanson
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Age: 50
Fugitive Nights: Danger in the Desert
1993
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as Brita Burrows
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Age: 48
Mom and Dad Save the World
1992
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as Marge Nelson
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Age: 47
The Player
1992
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as Teri Garr
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Age: 47
Deliver Them from Evil: The Taking of Alta View
1992
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as Susan Woolley
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Age: 47
Robert Altman's Players
1992
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as Self
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Age: 47
Stranger in the Family
1991
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as Randi Thompson
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Age: 46
The Best of Disney: 50 Years of Magic
1991
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as Self
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Age: 46
No Image
A Quiet Little Neighborhood, a Perfect Little Murder
1990
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as Marsha Pegler
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Age: 45
Waiting for the Light
1990
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as Kay
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Age: 45
Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme
1990
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as Jill (of Jack and Jill)
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Age: 45
Short Time
1990
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as Carolyn Simpson
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Age: 45
Let It Ride
1989
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as Pam
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Age: 44
Out Cold
1989
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as Sunny
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Age: 44
Full Moon in Blue Water
1988
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as Louise
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Age: 43
No Image
Jackie Gleason: The Great One
1988
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as Self
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Age: 43
Flapjack Floozie
1988
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as Helen Eagles
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Age: 43
Pack of Lies
1987
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as Helen Schaefer
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Age: 42
After Hours
1985
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as Julie
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Age: 40
The History of White People in America
1985
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as Self
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Age: 40
Night of 100 Stars II
1985
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as Self
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Age: 40
Firstborn
1984
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as Wendy
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Age: 39
Mr. Mom
1983
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as Caroline
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Age: 38
The Black Stallion Returns
1983
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as Alec Ramsay's Mother
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Age: 38
The Sting II
1983
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as Veronica
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Age: 38
Tootsie
1982
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as Sandy Lester
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Age: 38
The Escape Artist
1982
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as Arlene
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Age: 37
One from the Heart
1982
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as Frannie
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Age: 37
Honky Tonk Freeway
1981
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as Ericka
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Age: 36
Inside the Coppola Personality
1981
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as Self
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Age: 36
Rendez-Vous Video Magazine
1981
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as Self (segment "Coppola")
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Age: 36
Witches' Brew
1980
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as Margaret Lightman
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Age: 35
Doctor Franken
1980
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as Kelli Fisher
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Age: 35
The Black Stallion
1979
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as Alec's Mother
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Age: 34
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
1977
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as Ronnie Neary
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Age: 33
Oh, God!
1977
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as Bobbie Landers
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Age: 32
Young Frankenstein
1974
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as Inga
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Age: 30
The Conversation
1974
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as Amy Fredericks
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Age: 29
You Haven't Changed a Bit
1970
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as Corinne
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Age: 25
Changes
1969
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as Waitress
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Age: 24
Head
1968
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as Testy True
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Age: 23
Red Line 7000
1965
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as Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 20
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home!
1965
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as Harem Girl (uncredited)
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Age: 20
The T.A.M.I. Show
1964
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as Self - Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Roustabout
1964
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as Carnival Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Pajama Party
1964
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as Pajama Girl
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Age: 19
What a Way to Go!
1964
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as Shipboard Number Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Kissin' Cousins
1964
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as Hillbilly Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Viva Las Vegas
1964
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as Dancer (uncredited)
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Age: 19
Fun in Acapulco
1963
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as Hotel Guest (uncredited)
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Age: 18
A Swingin' Affair
1963
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as
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Age: 18