Teri Hatcher

Description:

Teri Hatcher is an American actress, writer, presenter, and former NFL cheerleader. She is known for her television roles, portraying Lois Lane on the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997), and as Susan Mayer on the television series Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Teri Lynn Hatcher was born in Palo Alto, California, the only child of Esther (Beshur), a computer programmer, and Owen Walker Hatcher, Jr., a nuclear physicist and electrical engineer. She has Syrian (from her immigrant maternal grandfather), Frisian, English, and Irish ancestry. Teri grew up in Sunnyvale, California, and spent her childhood dancing, and fishing with her father. While at Fremont High School, she was captain of the Featherettes, a dance team that had the look of regular cheerleaders, with the exception of the large headdresses they wore. She was voted "Most Likely to Become a Solid Gold (1980) Dancer" by her graduating class in 1982. Hatcher studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while taking a degree course in mathematics and engineering at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. She became a member of the 1984 Gold Rush, the name of the professional cheer leading squad of the American football San Francisco 49ers.

Hatcher went to Hollywood to lend moral support to a friend during a open casting call. She, however, auditioned and won the role of the singing and dancing mermaid for the television series The Love Boat (1977). She went on to play "Penny Parker," a ditsy but sweet-hearted struggling actress on MacGyver (1985). When that show ended, she auditioned for and won the role of smart and savvy "Lois Lane" on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993), saying that she didn't want to be stuck with the pretty airhead image she had acquired as "Penny Parker."

She married actor Jon Tenney in May 1994. She gave birth to daughter Emerson Tenney on November 10, 1997. Later, she signed to play "Sally Bowles" in a road tour of Cabaret. The tour debuted in Los Angeles on March 2, 1999. Her final show was on September 4, 1999. She stayed out of the industry for a little bit before nabbing a role on the darkly comedic soap opera Desperate Housewives (2004), which could have been a huge mistake. The show turned out to be a mega-hit, which skyrocketed Hatcher to the A-list. Her portrayal of a divorced mother, "Susan Mayer," was consistently named as America's favorite "Desperate Housewife." Hatcher won both a Golden Globe for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and the SAG Award for Female Actor in a Comedy Series before the show's first season was even over.

Overview

Birthday December 8, 1964

Born In Palo Alto, California, USA

Height 168 cm

Spouse/Ex- Jon Tenney May 27, 1994 - March 5, 2003 (divorced),Markus Leithold June 4, 1988 - June 2, 1989 (divorced)

Parents Esther Beshur

Children Emerson Tenney

Did you know

Trivia In 2002, Hatcher was visiting her parents in her native Sunnyvale when she read about teenager Sarah Van Cleempunt who had committed suicide and left behind a note that said "You're probably thinking a normal teenager doesn't do this; well, ask Dick!" Dick was Richard Hayes Stone, Hatcher's uncle, who had been a trusted family friend of the Van Cleemputs and both families had vacationed together. Hatcher contacted prosecutors and with a tape recording running, Hatcher explained in detail how her uncle - the then-husband of her mother's sister - allegedly molested her in the late 1960s and early '70s when she was no more than 7. After prosecutors gave the defense a transcript of Hatcher's interview, Stone pleaded guilty Oct. 24, 2002, leaving no need for a trial nor a court appearance for Hatcher. His victim included another girl who has never been identified. Stone, then 64-years-old, pleaded guilty to four counts of child molestation in the case of the 14-year-old victim and received 14 years in prison. Chuck Gillingham, the Santa Clara County deputy district attorney in California, said, "Without Teri, this case would have been dismissed."In an interview with Vanity Fair for their April 2006 edition, Hatcher revealed that at the time she talked to the authorities, she was afraid if her story came out in the tabloids, she would be seen as a has-been actress seeking publicity. "At the end of the day, there was no way I was not going to put this girl first, before whatever damage might be done to me," Hatcher told the magazine. "But my fear is far outweighed by what I know is my obligation to help other victims of sexual abuse to not feel alone."The perpetrator of the abuse, Richard Hayes Stone, died of colon cancer in prison in August 2008.

Quotes My advice, be healthy, reach your own goals, and don't be afraid to impersonate an SNL star. (AOL 7/96)

Nickname Hatch

Salaries $6,500,000 (2005-2006 season)