Oscar-nominated actor Teri Garr who was best known for her roles in Friends and Young Frankenstein has passed away, aged 79.
Teri had a decades-long acting career, well recognised for her parts in films such as Tootsie (1982) and her role as Phoebe Abbott, the biological mother of Phoebe Buffay (played by Lisa Kudrow) on the sitcom Friends.
Variety reports that the late actor passed away in Los Angeles this week. The announcement has sparked an outpouring of tributes, with fans recalling Teri's roles from her on-screen career, which began in the 1960s.
Her career includes a role in Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974). That year, she played Inga, Dr. Frederick Frankenstein's (Gene Wilder) assistant, in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974). She went on to play Ronnie Neary, the wife of the lead character Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss), in Steven Spielberg's 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, reports the Mirror.
Her most prominent credits include playing Sandy Lester in Tootsie (1982), which co-starred Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange. Her performance earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, that co-star Jessica won.
Teri's filmography includes After Hours (1985), Dumb and Dumber (1994), and Kabluey (2007), the latter of which reunited her with her previous on-screen daughter Lisa. Her television credits include: M*A*S*H, Frasier, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
One of her most memorable TV appearances was as Phoebe's estranged biological mother, also named Phoebe, on the NBC comedy Friends. She appears in three episodes over the third and fourth seasons.
Teri revealed in 2002 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). According to ABC News at the time, the star stated that she had been having symptoms for almost 20 years. Teri shared that she hoped to raise awareness of the condition, adding: "If you have MS the important thing to know is that life will go on."
As previously reported, She had a brain aneurysm in 2006 that left her in a coma for several weeks. However, following her recovery, she's said to have briefly returned to acting in 2011.
Tributes have been paid to Teri on social media following the news of her death this week. One person tweeted: "God speed [Teri]. Her mere presence in any film just made everything better. An absolute brilliant wit made her one of the greatest comedic actors."
Someone else wrote: "She was ALWAYS so good in everything she did, no matter the size of part, genre of Movie or TV show - she just always always delivered." A third fan said: "[Teri] was funny and devastating and a bright hot light whenever she graced the screen. I loved her."
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