Teri Polo
Teri Polo | |
---|---|
![]() Polo in 2014 | |
Born | Theresa Elizabeth Polo Dover, Delaware, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1986–present |
Spouse(s) | Anthony Moore
(m. 1997; div. 2005) |
Partner(s) | Jamie Wollam (2007–2012) |
Children | 2 |
Theresa Elizabeth Polo is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the Meet the Parents trilogy and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series The Fosters (2013–2018) and its spinoff Good Trouble (2019).
Early life[]
Polo was born in Dover, Delaware to Jane (née Gentry), a homemaker, and Vincent Polo, a stereo systems designer.[citation needed] She is of Italian, English, and German descent.[1] She studied ballet for 13 years beginning at age five. By age 13, she was attending New York's School of American Ballet. After winning a modeling contest, she moved to New York City at the age of seventeen to pursue an acting career.
Career[]
Polo's acting debut, in 1987, was in the role of Kristin Larsen on the ABC daytime soap opera Loving.[2] The following year, she earned a role in primetime on the short-lived CBS series TV 101. She also starred in the 1990 miniseries The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daaé. In 1994, Polo became a regular cast member on the last season of Northern Exposure. She later played Detective Ash on the TV series Brimstone. She appeared in a recurring guest role in the sixth and seventh seasons of The West Wing playing the role of Helen Santos, the wife of Democratic presidential candidate Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits).
In February 2005, Polo posed nude for Playboy magazine. Her appearance was linked to the release of Meet the Fockers, with cover text that made similar plays on words such as "She's one hot Focker". She was ranked No. 40 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.[3] She was also featured in InStyle. She also starred in the Lifetime Movie Network 2006 movie, Legacy of Fear. In 2007, she starred in a Hallmark Channel movie Love is a Four Letter Word. In 2009, she starred in the feature film 2:13 and the Hallmark Channel movie Expecting a Miracle with Jason Priestley and Cheech Marin. That same year she also starred in The Beacon.[4]
She appeared in the 2009 television pilot for Washington Field, a show about the National Capitol Response Squad, a unit of the FBI composed of elite experts in different areas who travel around the world responding to events that concern American interests. In 2010, Polo reprised her role as Pam Focker in Little Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. She also appeared in the 1980s-styled horror fantasy film, The Hole. She co-starred in the ABC Family series The Fosters.[5] Polo played San Diego police officer Stef Adams Foster, a mother to three children (one from a previous marriage) and the wife of Lena Adams Foster (Sherri Saum), along with the two being foster parents to two children.
Polo has guest-starred on many TV shows, including The Practice, Felicity, Chicago Hope, Numb3rs, Sports Night, Frasier, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, Law & Order: LA, Castle and Criminal Minds.
Personal life[]
In April 1997, Polo married photographer Anthony Moore. They have a son together, Griffin (born 2002). In 2005, Polo and Moore divorced.[citation needed]
In 2006, while on the set of a video, Polo met drummer Jamie Wollam. They moved in together and had a daughter, Bayley, in 2007, but broke up in 2012.[6]
Filmography[]
Film[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1991 | Born to Ride | Beryl Ann Devers | |
1991 | Mystery Date | Geena Matthews | |
1992 | Passed Away | Rachel Scanlan | |
1993 | Aspen Extreme | Robin Hand | |
1993 | Quick | Quick | |
1993 | The House of the Spirits | Rosa del Valle | |
1994 | Golden Gate | Cynthia | |
1996 | The Arrival | Char | |
2000 | Meet the Parents | Pam Byrnes | |
2001 | The Unsaid | Barbara Lonigan | |
2001 | Domestic Disturbance | Susan | |
2003 | Straight From the Heart | Jordan Donovan | |
2003 | Beyond Borders | Charlotte Jordan | |
2004 | Meet the Fockers | Pam Byrnes-Focker | |
2007 | Full of It | Mrs. Moran | |
2009 | 2:13 | Amanda Richardson | |
2009 | The Hole | Susan | |
2009 | The Beacon | Bryn Shaw | |
2010 | Little Fockers | Pam Focker | |
2012 | Beyond | Sarah Noble | |
2012 | Christmas Angel | ||
2013 | Final Recourse | Brooke Holton | |
2013 | The Last Session | Elizabeth Queen | Short film |
2014 | Authors Anonymous | Colette Mooney | |
2014 | A Bit of Bad Luck | Amanda | |
2014 | Mr Maple Leaf | Alex | Short film |
2016 | Outlaws and Angels | Ada Tildon | |
2019 | Deadly Switch | Olivia | |
2021 | The Ravine |
Television[]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1986 | Loving | Kristin Larsen | Daytime series |
1988–1989 | TV 101 | Amanda Hampton | 13 episodes |
1990 | The Phantom of the Opera | Christine Daaé | Movie |
1990 | People Like Us | Justine Altemus Slatkin | NBC movie |
1994 | Due South | Stephanie Cabot | Episode: "They Eat Horses, Don't They?" |
1994 | Tales from the Crypt | Sheila | Episode: "Revenge Is the Nuts" |
1994–1995 | Northern Exposure | Michelle Schodowski Capra | 15 episodes |
1995 | Chicago Hope | Nurse Sarah Jane Petty | Episode: "Heartbreak" |
1996 | Full Circle | Tana Roberts | NBC movie |
1997 | Van Helsing Chronicles | Helena Harker | Movie |
1997 | A Prayer in the Dark | Janet Hayworth | Movie |
1997 | House of Frankenstein | Grace Dawkins | NBC miniseries |
1998 | Texarkana | Movie | |
1998 | A Father for Brittany | Kim Lussier | CBS movie |
1998 | The Outer Limits | Sally McCoy | Episode: "Identity Crisis" |
1998 | The Marriage Fool (Love After Death) | Susan Prescot | CBS movie |
1998–1999 | Brimstone | Det. Sgt. Delilah Ash / Ashur Badaktu | 6 episodes |
1999 | Sugar Hill | Series | |
1999 | Felicity | Maggie Sherwood | 5 episodes |
1999–2000 | Sports Night | Rebecca Wells | 8 episodes |
2000 | Frasier | Abby Michaels | Episode: "Legal Tender Love and Care" |
2002 | Second String | Connie Heller | TNT movie |
2003 | Straight from the Heart | Jordan Donovan | Hallmark movie |
2003 | L.A. Dragnet | Jessie Ross | Episode: "All That Glitters" |
2003 | The Practice | Sarah Barker | 5 episodes |
2003–2004 | I'm with Her | Alex Young | 22 episodes |
2005–2006 | The West Wing | Helen Santos | 18 episodes |
2006 | Welcome to the Jungle Gym | CBS movie | |
2006 | For the Love of a Child | Yvonne | Lifetime Movies movie |
2006 | Legacy of Fear | Det. Jeanne 'JJ' Joyce | Lifetime movie |
2007 | Numb3rs | Rachel Willons | Episode: "Nine Wives" |
2007 | Love Is a Four Letter Word | Emily Bennett | Hallmark movie |
2007 | The Wedding Bells | Jane Bell | 4 episodes |
2008 | Finnegan | Det. Erin Finnegan | ABC movie |
2008 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Dana Kelley | Episode: "Confession" |
2008 | CSI: Miami | Jill Walsh | Episode: "Gone Baby Gone" |
2009 | Expecting a Miracle | Donna Stanhope | Hallmark movie |
2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Nikki | 2 episodes |
2009 | The Storm | Danni Nelson | Episode: "The Storm: Part 1" |
2009 | Drop Dead Diva | Jillian Ford | Episode: "The Magic Bullet" |
2009 | Monk | Stephanie Briggs | Episode: "Mr. Monk Is the Best Man" |
2009 | Washington Field | SA Amanda Diaz | CBS movie |
2010 | Medium | Mary-Louise Graff | Episode: "It's a Wonderful Death" |
2010 | Glory Daze | Prof. Larsen | 2 episodes |
2010–2011 | Law & Order: LA | Casey Winters | 3 episodes |
2011 | Castle | Kayla Baron | Episode: "Pretty Dead" |
2011 | We Have Your Husband | Jayne Valseca | Movie |
2011 | Man Up! | Theresa Hayden Keen | 10 episodes |
2012 | A Taste of Romance | Sara Westbrook | Hallmark movie |
2012 | Criminal Minds | Maggie Hallman | Episode: "I Love You, Tommy Brown" |
2012 | The Christmas Heart | Ann Norman | Hallmark movie |
2012 | Christmas Angel | Melinda Davis | Movie |
2013–2018 | The Fosters | Stef Adams Foster | Lead role |
2014 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Cordelia Bauer | Episode: "American Disgrace" |
2014 | The Christmas Shepherd | Sally Brown | Hallmark movie |
2015 | Romantically Speaking | Penny | Movie |
2015 | Love, Again | Chloe Baker | Hallmark movie |
2016 | Royal Pains | Diana Underhill | Episode: "Stranger Danger" |
2016 | The $100,000 Pyramid | Herself (celebrity guest) | Episode: "Teri Polo vs. Zachary Levi" |
2016 | JL Ranch | Rebecca Landsburg | Movie |
2016 | Conviction | Penny Price | Episode: "Mother's Little Burden" |
2018 | Deadly Delusion | Dr. Leary | Lifetime Movie |
2019 | Good Trouble | Stef Adams Foster | Guest role |
2019 | The Bravest Knight | Saylor | Supporting character [7] |
2020 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Rita | Episode: "Side Sitting" |
2021 | The Big Leap | Julia Perkins | Main role |
References[]
- ^ Brooke Carter (January 12, 2017). "What Happened to Teri Polo – News & Updates". Gazette Review.
- ^ "Soap Opera Actors: Where are they now". June 17, 2015.
- ^ "FreeJose.com". Maxim Magazine Hot 100 Women of 2002. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007. Retrieved January 27, 2007.
- ^ "First Images From 'The Beacon', Texas Screenings! -". bloody-disgusting.com.
- ^ "Stef Foster". ABC Family.
- ^ "Teri Polo Welcomes Baby Girl". People. December 21, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
- ^ Fox, Sarah (June 1, 2019). "'The Bravest Knight' Gets a Colorful Trailer to Start Pride Month". Slanted. Archived from the original on June 7, 2019. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Teri Polo. |
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from Delaware
- American film actresses
- American people of English descent
- American people of German descent
- American people of Italian descent
- American television actresses
- Living people
- People from Dover, Delaware
- School of American Ballet alumni