Childhood & Early Life
Teri Lynn Hatcher was born on December 8, 1964, in Palo Alto, a city located in the Santa Clara County, California. Her father, Owen Walker Hatcher, Jr., was a nuclear physicist and an electrical engineer, and her mother, Esther (née Beshur), was a computer programmer. She was her parents’ only child.
A few years after her birth, her parents moved to nearby Los Alto, where she was trained in ballet at the ‘San Juan School of Dance.’ At the age of 5, she was sexually assaulted by an uncle, but kept it a secret until he molested another child in 2006.
After spending a few years in Los Alto, the family shifted to Sunnyvale, where she attended ‘Mango Junior High School’ (now ‘Sunnvale Middle School’) and then ‘Fremont High School.’ While in high school, she became the captain of the dance team, ‘Featherettes.’
In 1982, she entered the ‘De Anza College’ in Cupertino, California, where she opted for mathematics and engineering. Concurrently, she also started attending acting lessons at the prestigious ‘American Conservatory Theatre’ in San Francisco.
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Career
In 1984, Teri Hatcher began her career as a member of ‘Gold Rush Cheerleaders,’ the cheerleading team for ‘San Francisco 49ers.’ Eventually, she gave up her studies to focus on acting, debuting on TV with the 1985–1986 season of ‘The Love Boat.’ She appeared as ‘Amy’ in 19 of its episodes.
Beginning in September 1986, she began appearing as ‘Penny Parker’ in seven episodes of ‘MacGyver.’ Also during 1986–1987, she played the role of ‘Angelica Stimac Clegg’ in five episodes of ‘Capitol.’
In 1987, she got her first starring role, when she was chosen to play ‘Laura Matthews’ in 13 episodes of ‘Karen’s Song.’ Also, the same year, she appeared as ‘Kitty’ in an episode of ‘Night Court.’ She then continued to appear in guest roles in various productions.
In 1989, she debuted in films, appearing as ‘Gretchen’ in ‘The Big Picture’ and as ‘Katherine’ in ‘Tango & Cash.’ These were followed by ‘Soapdish’ (1991) and ‘Straight Talk’ (1992). In 1991, she also appeared in two TV movies, ‘The Brotherhood’ and ‘Dead in the Water.’
In 1993, she got her first lead role when she was cast as ‘Lois Lane’ in 87 episodes of 'Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.’ Meanwhile, she continued working for other productions, appearing in her fifth film that year, ‘Brainsmasher… A Love Story.’
Starting in 1994, she began getting starring roles in various productions, appearing in the films ‘The Cool Surface’ and ‘All Tied Up.’ They were followed by her 1996 films ‘Dead Girl,’ ‘Heaven’s Prisoner,’ and ‘Two Days in the Valley.’ In 1996, she hosted ‘Saturday Night Live.’
In 1997, she earned acclaim for portraying ‘Paris Carver’ in the ‘James Bond’ film ‘Tomorrow Never Dies.’ She was 3 months pregnant during the filming of the movie. Soon, she was voted the world's sexiest woman by readers of ‘FHM,’ a popular men’s magazine.
After ‘Tomorrow Never Dies,’ she continued to appear in prominent roles, both on the big and the small screens. Finally, in 2004, she earned the biggest TV role of her life, when she was cast as ‘Susan Mayer’ in the comedy–drama series ‘Desperate Housewives.’ She appeared in 180 episodes of the series.
In May 2006, she released her autobiography, ‘Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life.’ She also continued to appear in guest roles in other TV productions and starred in films such as ‘Resurrecting the Champ’ (2007). She lent her voice to the animated fantasy–horror movie ‘Coraline’ (2009).
In 2013–2014, she lent her voice to the character ‘Beatrice Le Beak’ in seven episodes of the animation series ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates.' It was followed by the series ‘The Odd Couple’ (2016–2017, 11 episodes) and ‘Supergirl’ (2017, eight episodes). She also appeared in 'The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer' (2018), ‘QI’ (2018), and ‘All Round to Mrs. Brown's’ (2019).
Equally active on the big screen, she has been associated with three movies since 2013. She has done voice roles in ‘Planes’ (2013) and ‘Planes, ‘Fire & Rescue’ (2014). She has also appeared as ‘Janice Hoagland’ in ‘Sundown’ (2016). Currently, she is filming ‘Madness in the Method,’ in which she is set to appear as ‘Geena.’
She has directed an episode of the series ‘Twisted’ and written an episode of ‘Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman.’
As a singer, she has contributed to the soundtracks of ‘Desperate Housewives,’ ‘Coraline,’ and ‘MacGyver.’
Major Works
Hatcher is best known for her performance as ‘Susan Mayer’ in the ‘ABC’ TV series ‘Desperate Housewives.’ After debuting in the pilot episode on October 3, 2004, she appeared in every episode of the series, until its end on May 13, 2012, reportedly earning a neat sum of $285,000 per episode. The role earned her a ‘Golden Globe’ award, a ‘Primetime Emmy’ nomination, and three ‘Screen Actors Guild’ awards.
Family & Personal Life
On June 4, 1988, Hatcher married Marcus Leithold. The couple divorced a year later, on June 2, 1989.
On May 27, 1994, she married Jon Tenney. They had a daughter, Emerson Rose, on November 10, 1997. The couple divorced on March 5, 2003.
