Teri Garr

Teri Garr
Signed photo of Garr in the 1970s
Born	Terry Ann Garr (1947-12-11) December 11, 1947 (age 69) (year of birth disputed; other years cited include 1944, 1945 and 1949) Lakewood, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, dancer, singer, comedian
Years active	1963–2007 (hiatus)
Spouse(s)	John O'Neil (1993–1996)
Partner(s)	Roger Birnbaum (1979–1983) David Kipper (1983–1990)

Terry Ann Garr (born December 11, 1947)—known as Teri Garr—is an American actress, singer, comedian, dancer, and voice artist. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1982 film, Tootsie. She notably appeared on television as Phoebe Abbott in three episodes of the sitcom Friends (1997–1998), and had a starring guest appearance in the 1968 Star Trek episode "Assignment: Earth".

Garr was born in Lakewood, Ohio. Her father, Eddie Garr (born Edward Leo Gonnoud), was a vaudeville performer, comedian, and actor whose career peaked when he briefly took over the lead role in the Broadway drama Tobacco Road. He changed his surname before Teri's birth. Her mother, Phyllis Lind (born Emma Schmotzer), was a dancer, a Rockette, wardrobe mistress, and model. Her father was of Irish descent and her maternal grandparents were Austrian immigrants.

Early in her career she was credited as Terri Garr, Terry Garr, Teri Hope, or Terry Carr. Her movie debut was as an extra in A Swingin' Affair (1963). At the end of her senior year at Magnificat High School, she auditioned for the cast of the Los Angeles road company production of West Side Story, where she met one of the most important people in her early career, David Winters, who became her friend, her dance teacher, and her mentor and cast her in many of his early movies and projects.

Garr began as a background dancer in uncredited roles for youth-oriented films and TV shows choreographed by Winters, including Pajama Party, a beach party film, the T.A.M.I. Show, Shindig!, Hullabaloo, Movin' with Nancy, and nine Elvis Presley features (many of which were also choreographed by Winters, including Presley's most profitable film, Viva Las Vegas). When asked in a magazine interview about how she landed jobs in so many Presley films, Garr answered, "One of the dancers in the road show of West Side Story (David Winters), started to choreograph movies, and whatever job he got I was one of the girls he'd hire. So he was chosen to do Viva Las Vegas. That was my first movie."