Teri Garr’s Most Memorable Roles
Actress Teri Garr died Tuesday at the age of 79, after publicly battling multiple sclerosis for more than 20 years.
She was a familiar face on TV and movie screens throughout the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s.
She started her career as a dancer, appearing in nine Elvis Presley films, including “Viva Las Vegas.”
Her big break came in 1974 as Inga in “Young Frankenstein” with Gene Wilder. The film established her as a talented comedy performer, with New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael proclaiming her “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.”
She earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1983 for her role in “Tootsie.” She played a struggling actress who was dating Dustin Hoffman’s character, learning that he dressed as a woman on a soap opera. Hoffman remembered Garr in a statement on Tuesday, saying, “Teri was brilliant and singular in all she did, and had a heart of gold. Working with her was one of the great highs. There was no one like her.”
Garr also had another big role in 1983, playing an advertising executive in the film “Mr. Mom.” Michael Keaton played her husband, who stayed at home with the kids while she went to work. Keaton honored Garr on Instagram Tuesday, writing, “this is a day i feared and knew was coming.”
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Fans of the TV show “Friends” also remember Garr as Phoebe’s birth mother, Phoebe Abbott. Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe, released a statement to People Magazine. “Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who was and is a huge influence on me and I know I’m not alone in that. I feel so lucky and grateful I got to work with Teri Garr.”
Her publicist Heidi Schaeffer told PEOPLE that Garr died “surrounded by family and friends.” She is survived by her daughter, Molly O’Neil, and grandson Tyryn.
