Teri Garr dead: Actress who starred in Tootsie, Young Frankenstein and Friends dies aged 79 after battle with MS
Date: 2024-10-29ICONIC actress Teri Garr has tragically died aged 79 after a long-term health battle.
The beloved movie and TV star is mainly known as Phoebe’s mum in the legendary sitcom Friends and for her Oscar nominated performance in Tootsie.
The veteran actress passed away on Tuesday after complications due to multiple sclerosis.
Teri had been living with the chronic disease since 2002.
She passed away in Los Angeles “surrounded by family and friends,†her publicist Heidi Schaeffer announced.
The comic actress first gained global attention when she broke into Hollywood in 1974 playing Inga in Young Frankenstein alongside Gene Wilder.
Almost a decade later she earned herself an Oscar nomination for her work as Sandy Lester in Tootsie.
She was put up for the illustrious Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 1983 awards.
Despite losing out to fellow Tootsie star Jessica Lange the nomination was one of Teri’s career highlights.
Teri starred in over 140 movies and TV shows throughout her stellar career with one of her most well-known coming as Phoebe’s mum in Friends for three episodes.
Playing Phoebe Abbott between 1997 to 1998, Teri became beloved by the legendary shows cult following.
Around the same time as her first appearance in the Friends’ episode The One At The Beach, Teri also played Ronnie Neary in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.
Before becoming a mainstay in Hollywood the Ohio-born actress was also a comedian, singer and a dancer.
This collection of skills and her popularity during the 70s and 80s saw her host Saturday Night Live on three separate occasions.
In 2006, Teri survived emergency surgery after she suffered a brain aneurysm just four years on from being diagnosed with MS.
She served as a national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and was the chairwoman for the organization’s Woman Against MS programs.
In her touching memoir she spoke on her health, saying: “In my mind, it was all going according to plan. But it ain’t always so, is it?
“My body had a trick or two up its sleeve. A stumble here, a tingling finger there.
“I was trained as a dancer and knew better than to indulge the random aches and pains that visited now and then.
“Being a successful Hollywood actress may be challenging, but little did I know that the very body that had always been my calling card would betray me.â€
Her final on screen appearance came in 2011.
Teri leaves behind her adopted daughter Molly O’Neil and grandson Tyryn.
What is multiple sclerosis?
MULTIPLE sclerosis affects the spinal cord as well as the brain causing nerve damage and lifelong ailments.
MS is an autoimmune condition meaning that the body’s immune system mistakes an area of the body for a threat and attacks it.
This can slow down the nerve signals, jumble them up or stop them completely, leading to a loss of control over certain functions in the body.
Multiple sclerosis can affect everyone and anyone regardless of race or gender, however, it is two to three times more common in women than in men.
It is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 30.
Common symptoms
- Fatigue
- Vision problems
- Numbness and tingling
- Muscle spasms, stiffness and weakness
- Mobility problems
- Pain
- Problems with thinking, learning and planning
- Depression and anxiety
- Sexual problems
- Bladder problems
- Bowel problems
- Speech and swallowing difficulties
There is currently no cure for MS, but the symptoms can be treated with medications and other treatments.
MS is rarely a fatal condition, however, the symptoms and side effects of severe MS can cause further medical issues.
Swallowing difficulties and chest or bladder infections can affect the quality of life for those with severe MS.
Those diagnosed with the condition generally live five to ten years less than the national average, however, the NHS claims that this gap appears to be getting smaller all the time.
