Teri Garr was able to claim a career in show business by birthright. She was the daughter of Eddie Garr, a Broadway stage and film actor, and Phyllis Garr, a dancer. While she was still an infant, her family moved from Hollywood to New Jersey but, after the death of her father when she was 11, the family returned to Hollywood, where her mother became a wardrobe mistress for movies and television. While Garr's dancing can be seen in five Elvis Presley movies, her first speaking role in motion pictures was in the 1968 feature Head (1968), starring The Monkees.

In the 1970s, she established herself on television with appearances on shows such as Star Trek (1966), It Takes a Thief (1968) and McCloud (1970), and became a semi-regular on The Sonny and Cher Show (1976) as Cher's friend, Olivia. Garr rose to become one of Hollywood's most versatile, energetic and well-recognized actresses.

She starred in many memorable films, including Young Frankenstein (1974), Oh, God! (1977), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Mr. Mom (1983), After Hours (1985) and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actress in Tootsie (1982). Other film roles include The Black Stallion (1979), One from the Heart (1981), The Escape Artist (1982), Firstborn (1984), Let It Ride (1989), Full Moon in Blue Water (1988), Out Cold (1989), Short Time (1990), Waiting for the Light (1990), Mom and Dad Save the World (1992), Perfect Alibi (1995), Ready to Wear (1994) and A Simple Wish (1997).

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Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Jane Curtin, Tom Davis, James Downey, and Brian Doyle-Murray in Downey Wrote That (2025)

Teri Garr and Ben Savage in Aliens for Breakfast (1995)

Teri Garr in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Teri Garr and William Shatner in Star Trek (1966)

Teri Garr and Rudolph Willrich in Doctor Franken (1980)

Teri Garr and David Selby in Doctor Franken (1980)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Peter Boyle in Young Frankenstein (1974)

Teri Garr

Teri Garr

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