Teri Garr’s disappearance from the limelight has spanned over a decade and has left moviegoers who followed her career wondering what has become of the American actress. Born to parents who worked in showbiz, the Lakewood, Ohio native began her career as a ballet dancer during her teenage years. Along the way, she developed a passion for acting. This inspired her to drop out of California State University, Northridge, and move to New York City to pursue an acting career.
After studying acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, Teri Garr made her screen debut in 1963. Her breakthrough came in 1968 as Roberta Lincoln in the “Assignment: Earth” episode of NBC’s Star Trek. After the role, Garr started landing roles she described as “real acting work.” She cemented her Hollywood legacy with roles in successful movies, picking up coveted awards while at it, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Garr’s acting days are over, but she will always be remembered for her comedic talent and for influencing performers like Tina Fey and Jenna Fischer.
Teri Garr Is Famous For Her Film Roles In The 70s
Teri Garr’s rise to stardom came with a series of high-performing films in the 70s, beginning with her roles as Amy Fredericks and Inga in 1974’s The Conversation and Young Frankenstein, respectively. She consolidated her growing Hollywood reputation with the Ronnie Neary role in Stephen Spielberg’s 1977 film— Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Garr beat Amy Irving and Meryl Streep to the role, starring alongside Richard Dreyfuss’ Roy Neary and François Truffaut’s Claude Lacombe in the sci-fi drama, which was nominated for at least nine Oscars at the 50th Academy Awards ceremony.
The Ronnie Neary actress attained superstardom in the 80s with her portrayal of Sandy Lester in Sydney Pollack’s Tootsie. Her role in the 1982 satirical romantic comedy film earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Before the decade ran out, she had firmly entrenched her dominance in American cinema with her performances in Stan Dragoti’s Mr. Mom (1983) and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. In the decades that followed, she starred in comedy films like The Player (1992), Dumb and Dumber (1994), Michael (1996), Kill the Man (1999), and Life Without a Dick (2002)
A Degenerative Disease Led To Her Career Decline In The 90s
Teri Garr’s career started to plummet in the 90s following several mysterious symptoms hampering her ability to perform. Although she remained active, the actress could only manage a few appearances in the 2000s after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She went public with her struggles with the degenerative disease in October 2002, disclosing she first noticed symptoms in 1982 while filming Tootsie in New York. In an interview with CNN, Garr revealed that she was fitted with a leg brace and walked with a slight limp.
The Tootsie actress became an ambassador for MS-Lifeline and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, raising awareness about the condition while taking injections of interferon thrice a week to manage the disease. In 2005, Teri Garr published an autobiography that detailed her health struggles. Her health was further complicated in December 2006 when she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm that sent her into a coma for one week. With therapy, she recovered and returned to acting in 2007.
Teri Garr Eventually Gave Up Acting In 2011
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, the Ronnie Neary actress disclosed that she spent two months in rehab after coming out of coma. “…I went to physical therapy, occupational therapy, voice, every kind of therapy…,” she said. “I had to learn to walk again, talk again, (and) think again,” added Teri Garr. After her coma, the actress realized Hollywood executives weren’t eager to cast her in their productions. However, she appeared in three 2007 films: Cecilia Miniucchi’s Expired, Scott Prendergast’s Kabluey, and Tina Alexis Allen’s short film God Out the Window. Her last role came in 2011 when she appeared as Lindsey’s Mom alongside Jillian Federman and Meaghan Oppenheimer in How to Marry a Billionaire.
Teri Garr now lives in her San Fernando Valley home, managing her condition while spreading awareness about multiple sclerosis across the country. The actress made news headlines in December 2019 when it emerged that an ambulance was invited to her home after she suffered a stroke. Thankfully, it was later confirmed that she was hospitalized because of dehydration. “Teri is fine. She had some confusion, which it turns out was caused by dehydration,” her rep told ET Canada.
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