Celebrity Nooz: Teri Garr

Teri Garr (Actress) - Tootsie

Updated: 8/1/08

Name: Teri Garr

Birth Name: Terry Ann Garr

Born: December, 11 1947, Lakewood, Ohio

Claim To Fame: Teri has had memorable roles in classic films such as Young Frankenstein, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and an Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actress in 1982's Tootsie.

Family Life: Daughter of Eddie Garr, a Broadway stage and film actor, and Phyllis Garr, a dancer. She is divorced from John O'Neil. The two were married from 1993-1996, and have an adopted daughter, Molly.

Info: While Garr's dancing can be seen in nine Elvis Presley movies, her first speaking role in motion pictures was in the The Monkees film Head (1968). She appeared frequently on television, first on The Andy Griffith Show, and later on Batman, Star Trek, The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, The Ken Berry 'Wow' Show, and The Burns and Schreiber Comedy Hour.

Her film career took off in the mid-1970s with significant roles in Young Frankenstein, Oh, God!, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Black Stallion, Mr. Mom, and Tootsie. She hosted Saturday Night Live three times throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.

As a recurring guest on Late Night with David Letterman, she was renowned for her unscripted banter with personal friend David Letterman. She played a recurring character in Friends in the late 1990s. Garr appeared in a series of local television commercials in several markets for various FM radio stations.

Trivia: In 1990, she smashed the windows of her ex-boyfriend's house after a woman called Garr to tell her she had slept with Garr's boyfriend. Charges were never filed against her.

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1977" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 29.

Marriage to John O'Neil took place on the day their adopted daughter Molly was born.

Friend of Connie Sellecca.

Was the winner on a celebrity edition of "Weakest Link" (2001).

Friend of Toni Basil.

Has two brothers.

Attended CSU Northridge along with her "Close Encounters" co-star, Richard Dreyfuss.

Where Are They Now: In October 2002, Garr went public with the news that she has multiple sclerosis. After years of uncertainty and secrecy surrounding her diagnosis, Garr explained her reasons for deciding to go public: "I'm telling my story for the first time, so I can help people. I can help people know they aren't alone, and tell them there are reasons to be optimistic because today treatment options are available".

Garr has since become a leading advocate in raising awareness for MS and the latest treatments for the disease. She is a National Ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and National Chair for the Society's Women Against MS program (WAMS). In November 2005, Garr was honored as the society's Ambassador of the Year for her commitment to raising awareness about MS. This honor had been given only four times since the society was founded.

On December 21, 2006, she suffered a brain aneurysm in her Los Angeles area home; her 13-year-old daughter called for help when she couldn't get her to wake up. Following surgery, her publicist Heidi Schaeffer said she expects Garr to make a full recovery. Earlier this summer, she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman to promote her new movie, Expired.

Write To Teri Garr:
Teri (Terri/Terry) Garr
Paradigm (LA)
360 N Crescent Dr North Bldg
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

View other 'Where Are They Now' celebrities

Read the latest issue of Celebrity Nooz

Subscribe!