Teri Garr, Star of ‘Tootsie’ & ‘Young Frankenstein,’ Dies at 79

Teri Garr, a comedic legend who starred in films including Young Frankenstein, Tootsie and Mr. Mom, has died at age 79.

Born in 1944, Garr was a trained dancer who performed in a number of films and TV shows — including six Elvis Presley musicals — before she gained her first major acting role in a 1968 episode of Star Trek. She soon appeared in a number of movies that defined the cinematic ’70s: Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation and Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein in 1974, and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977.

In 1982, Garr hit the next level, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie. She was a frequent face on the big screen throughout the ’80s and ’90s, appearing primarily in comedies like 1983’s Mr. Mom, 1985’s After Hours and 1994’s Ready to Wear. She also appeared as the mother of Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe on Friends.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for Race to Erase MS

However, health issues began to trouble Garr in the ’80s, first popping up while she was on the set of Tootsie; they increased in the early ’90s, which slowed her acting career. In 2002, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.

In 2006, she suffered a brain aneurysm, which left her comatose for a week. That same year, she released her memoir, Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood.

© Warner Bros. / Courtesy: Everett Collection

Her final feature film was 2007’s Kabluey, and her final performance was the 2011 made-for-TV movie How to Marry a Billionaire. She officially retired from acting in 2011.

She is survived by one daughter, Molly O’Neil.