Teri Garr
Acting
🎂 1944-12-11
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.
Cast credits(164)
Self
1962
Self
1962
Laney (voice)
1997
Girl In A Red Convertible
1960
Minerva Grahame-Bishop
1999
Roberta Lincoln
1966
Cashier
1968
Self
2004
Phoebe Sr.
1994
Nancy (voice)
1993
Miss Brennan
1972
Lt. Suzanne Marquette
1972
Self - Presenter
1944
Maria Thompson
1973
Yenta
1996
Teri (voice)
1995
Mrs. Abigail Portinbody
2002
Celinda Randlett
1994
Teri Garr
1988
Mimi Stark
2000
Waitress
1971
Self - Host
1975
Insurance Agent
1970
Irene Paloma ("segment "The Trap")
1989
Girl Outside Rink (uncredited)
1966
Self
1993
Sandy Gordon (voice)
2002
Mary McGinnis (voice)
1999
Maggie Philbin
1968
Paige Turner
1993
Dr. Zwick
1998
Usherette
1967
Sgt. Phyllis Norton
1970
Self
1982
Princess
1982
1966
Mabel
1972
Self - Dancer
1964
Wife/Singer
1971
Inga (archive footage) (uncredited)
2006
1997
Self
1982
Self
1977
Carol
1996
Self
1973
Sandra McCadden
1990
Amber
1973
Self - Guest
1996
Helen Swanson
1994
Ronnie Neary
1977
Denise Sandler
1991
Duchess
1992
Inga
1974
Amy Fredericks
1974
Julie
1985
Mary McGinnis (voice)
2000
Sissy Emerson
1995
Teri Garr
1992
Caroline
1983
Maxine (uncredited)
2001
Fanny
1998
Sandy Lester
1982
Talon Kensington
1986
Alec's Mother
1979
Judge Esther Newberg
1996
Louise Hamilton
1994
Mayor Molly Quinn (voice)
2005
Alec Ramsay's Mother
1983
Helen Lorenzo
1999
Rena
1997
Frannie
1981
Aunt Judy / Valerie’s Sister
2006
Bobbie Landers
1977
Self
1985
Carnival Dancer (uncredited)
1964
Dancer (uncredited)
1967
Self (archive footage)
2014
Shipboard Number Dancer (uncredited)
1964
Dancer (uncredited)
1964
Fluffy Peters
1976
Carolyn Simpson
1990
Suze
2007
Pam
1989
Wendy
1984
Ginnie
2005
Hotel Guest (uncredited)
1963
Nightclub Dancer (uncredited)
1965
Veronica
1983
Testy True
1968
Marge Nelson
1992
Sunny
1989
Jean
1986
Harem Girl (uncredited)
1965
Mary McGinnis (voice)
1999
Hillbilly Dancer (uncredited)
1964
Self
1979
Laney Tolbert
1995
Whiz Girl
1967
Louise
1988
Julie Ordwell
1997
Waitress
1969
Connie
1997
Bennie's Girlfriend (uncredited)
1971
Arlene
1982
Ericka
1981
Pajama Girl
1964
Tess Malone
2001
Madame Hugonaut
2002
Kay
1990
Jill (of Jack and Jill)
1990
Mona Hall
2001
1966
Self
2002
Tess Malone
2001
Kelli Fisher
1980
Teri
1968
Amy McCleary
1982
Young Wife
1970
Self - Go-Go Dancer (uncredited)
1964
Helen Schaefer
1987
Randi Thompson
1991
Self (archive footage)
2013
JoAnn McGrath
1997
Claire's Mother / Aunt Tilde
2007
Self (archive footage)
2018
Self (segment "Coppola")
1981
Susan Cates
1977
Rita Wasinski
1976
Brita Burrows
1993
Mrs. Bickerstaff
1994
Self
1991
Susan Woolley
1992
Self
1984
Self
1983
Elizabeth Monroe
1997
Margaret Lightman
1980
Marsha Pegler
1990
Self
2001
Cindy Dubroski
1996
Princess
1982
Lee Dilley
1999
Frog Princess
1977
Self
1987
Self
1985
Mary Hawley
1983
Self
1992
Self
2008
Sally Bierston
1986
Sister Conductor
1995
1963
Mrs. Livingston
1999
Self
1988
Helen Eagles
1988
Self
1977
Hannah Winter
1984
Inga (archive footage)
1996
Dionne Waters
1997
Self
1981
self
2004
Susie
1967
Herself
2005
Girl
1966
Waitress
1979
Corinne
1970