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 Raumschiff Enterprise (1966), Ihr Auftritt, Al Mundy (1968) and Ein Sheriff in New York (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 Frankenstein Junior (1974), Oh, Gott (1977), Die unheimliche Begegnung der 3. Art (1977), Mr. Mom (1983), Die Zeit nach Mitternacht (1985) and her Academy Award-nominated performance for Best Supporting Actress in Tootsie (1982). Other film roles include Der schwarze Hengst (1979), Einer mit Herz (1981), Der große Zauber (1982), Moving in - Eine fast intakte Familie (1984), Alles auf Sieg (1989), Die Trottel vom Texas-Grill (1988), Tau' mich auf, Liebling! (1989), Short Time - Nichts als Ärger mit dem Kamikaze-Cop! (1990), Zeichen und Wunder (1990), Mom und Dad retten die Welt (1992), Das perfekte Alibi (1995), Prêt-à-Porter (1994) and Der Zauberwunsch (1997).
