Teri Hatcher

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Teri Hatcher
Hatcher at the World of Color premiere in 2010
Born (1964-12-08) December 8, 1964 (age 59)
Alma materAmerican Conservatory Theater
De Anza College
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
  • author
  • NFL cheerleader
  • director
Years active1985–present
Known forLois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman
Tomorrow Never Dies
Desperate Housewives
The Love Boat
Spouses
Marcus Leithold
(m. 1988; div. 1989)
(m. 1994; div. 2003)
Children1

Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an American actress and singer best known for her portrayals of Lois Lane on the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993–1997), Paris Carver in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), Mel Jones and the Beldam in Coraline (2009), and 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 and three Screen Actors Guild Awards (one as lead female actor, two as part of Best Ensemble), and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

Early life[edit]

Hatcher was born on December 8, 1964, in Palo Alto, California, the only child of Esther (née Beshur), a computer programmer who worked for Lockheed Martin, and Owen Walker Hatcher, Jr., a nuclear physicist and electrical engineer.[1][2] Her father is of Welsh and Choctaw Indian descent, while her mother is of French, German and Syrian ancestry.[3]

Hatcher took ballet lessons at the San Juan School of Dance in Los Altos and grew up in Sunnyvale, California.[1] At De Anza College she studied mathematics and engineering.[2]

In March 2006, she alleged that she was sexually abused from the age of five by Richard Hayes Stone, an uncle by marriage who was later divorced by Hatcher's aunt. She said her parents were unaware of the abuse.[4] In 2002, she assisted Santa Clara County prosecutors with their indictment of Stone for a more recent sexual offense that led his female victim to commit suicide at 14.[1][4] Stone pleaded guilty to four counts of child sexual abuse and was sentenced to 14 years in prison.[5] Hatcher said she told the prosecutors about her own abuse because she was haunted by thoughts of the 14-year-old girl who shot herself, and feared Stone might escape conviction. Stone died of colon cancer on August 19, 2008, after serving six years of his sentence.[6]

Career[edit]

1984–1992: Early work[edit]

Hatcher at the 1995 Emmy Awards

Hatcher studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater.[7] One of her early jobs (in 1984) was as an NFL cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers.[1][2] From September 1985 to May 1986 she joined the cast of the TV series The Love Boat as Amy, one of the Mermaid showgirls. It mainly involved dancing and singing as part of the Mermaids show routine, but she had short comedic lines in some episodes, and in one episode was part of one of three storylines opposite a male guest star.[citation needed] From 1986 to 1989, she appeared in six episodes of the TV series MacGyver as talkative but naive Penny Parker opposite Richard Dean Anderson's eponymous hero.[7]

In 1987, she played the sensible, intelligent 18-year-old daughter of Patty Duke's lead character in the short-lived Fox comedy Karen's Song, and had a guest-star role in an episode of Night Court. In 1988, she made a short guest appearance in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode The Outrageous Okona as Lt. Robinson. In 1989, she guest-starred in an episode of Quantum Leap, "Star Crossed", as the main character's mathematician/scientist future wife; and guest-starred as a nude beauty pageant winner in an episode of L.A. Law. That year she also made her motion picture debut with a minor role as a young opportunistic actress in The Big Picture, starring Kevin Bacon. She then played Sylvester Stallone's younger sister, a dancer, in the big-budget police action-comedy Tango and Cash, also starring Kurt Russell; it was a critical and box office disappointment.

After a short guest appearance in an episode of Murphy Brown in 1990, Hatcher's next TV series role, in 1991, was in the Norman Lear creation Sunday Dinner, a comedy. She co-starred as 30-year-old lawyer in a mostly physical relationship with a widowed businessman twice her age, played by Robert Loggia. The series had a brief run on CBS that summer but was not renewed. She also acted in the television crime movie Dead in the Water (1991) in which she plays Bryan Brown's lawyer's young, attractive temptress secretary, and in the low-budget erotic thriller The Cool Surface (not released until 1994), wherein she plays a young actress who has an ill-fated romance with an enigmatic, unsettled screenwriter. In late 1991 Hatcher was featured as Michael Bolton's love interest in the music video for Bolton's hit song "Missing You Now". In 1992, Hatcher tried out for the role of Jamie Buchman on Mad About You and made it to the final two choices, but lost the part to Helen Hunt.[8]

1993–1997: Breakthrough[edit]

Hatcher made a much-discussed guest appearance on a 1993 episode of Seinfeld, in which her character, Sidra, breaks up with Jerry because she believes Jerry sent his friend Elaine into a sauna to find out if Sidra's breasts are natural or enhanced by surgery. The episode concludes with Sidra saying to Jerry, "By the way, they're real, and they're spectacular" as she leaves his apartment. Hatcher returned to play Sidra in brief scenes in two subsequent episodes: "The Pilot", the fourth season finale, and "The Finale (Part 2)", the series finale.[citation needed]

Hatcher with Dean Cain at the 45th Primetime Emmy Awards, September 19, 1993

Hatcher landed a starring role in the ABC television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman as the Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (opposite Dean Cain as Superman/Clark Kent) from 1993 to 1997.[1] At the height of the show's popularity in 1995, a picture of Hatcher wrapped in a Superman cape was reportedly the most downloaded image on the Internet for several months. "It's a great shot," she said. "Not so much because it's me. It's just cool looking."[9] Hatcher also co-wrote an episode for season three called "It's A Small World After All" about a former classmate who shrinks and kidnaps her classmate's spouses and traps them in a dollhouse.

Hatcher hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live in 1996. Hatcher won the role of Paris Carver (beating Monica Bellucci) in the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies. Hatcher was three months pregnant at the filming's start, by her husband, Jon Tenney. A publicist said the pregnancy did not affect the production schedule.[10] She was voted the world's sexiest woman by readers of popular men's magazine FHM in spring 1997 after having been number four in 1996 and was number 15 in 1998; she also made the list's top 100 in 1999 and 2000.[11] Celebrity Sleuth ranked her as its Sexiest Woman for 1997, the only year it ranked her in its Top 25 list.[12] The Australian version of FHM began a 100 Sexiest Women list in 1998 and Hatcher placed 25th on the list, but she did not make the next list published in 2000.[13]

Hatcher also appeared in films such as Spy Kids (2001), and played a villain in two crime dramas, the ensemble 2 Days in the Valley (1996), a moderate box office success, and Heaven's Prisoners (1996), co-starring Alec Baldwin, which failed at the box office.

Hatcher appeared in a series of RadioShack television commercials alongside National Football League player Howie Long.

2004–2012: Commercial success with Desperate Housewives[edit]

Hatcher at 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in 2008

She beat four other actresses for one of the lead roles on ABC's Desperate Housewives,[7] in which she starred as Susan Mayer, a role for which she won the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Golden Globe Award in January 2005.[1] Later that year, Hatcher won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award in the same category. In July 2005, she was nominated for an Emmy award as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, along with co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman.[14]

Dana Delany, Hatcher, Brenda Strong and Andrea Bowen of Desperate Housewives at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards

Hatcher again made FHM's world's sexiest woman list in 2005 and 2006, placing at 63 and 81 those years, respectively.[11] The US version of FHM ranked her in its US's 100 Sexiest Woman list five times between its inaugural edition in 2000 and 2007, with peaks of number 7 in 2005 and number 10 in 2006.[13] and she was on the cover of the magazine's February 2005 edition.[15] Hatcher also re-entered the FHM Australia's Top 100 Sexiest Women list in 2005 and 2006 ranking 19 and 50 those years. She made similar lists in the German and Portuguese versions of FHM those years. Maxim Magazine placed her in its Top 100 listing of Sexiest Women of 2006 (a listing they began in 1999) at number 73.[16]

As of April 2006, Hatcher was one of the highest paid television actresses in the United States, reportedly earning $285,000 per episode of Desperate Housewives. That year she was one of the three nominees for Favorite Television Performer for the People's Choice Awards and was again nominated for a Golden Globe as Lead Actress in a television comedy program. In May 2006, she released her first book, Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life.[1] Hatcher performed The Beatles song "Good Night" on the 2006 charity album Unexpected Dreams – Songs From the Stars. On April 9, 2008, Hatcher appeared on Idol Gives Back, singing Carrie Underwood's "Before He Cheats". She voiced the Other Mother, a mysterious, button-eyed figure, as well as Coraline's mother Mel Jones, who constantly shows Coraline "tough love," both in the 2009 film Coraline, which received critical acclaim.[citation needed]

In 2010, Hatcher made a return to the Superman franchise, with a special guest role in the final season of Smallville as Ella Lane, the mother of Erica Durance's Lois Lane.[17][18] The episode continued a tradition of former Lois Lane actresses portraying the character's mother many years later. Noel Neill appeared as Lois' mother in the 1978 film Superman: The Movie, and Phyllis Coates made a similar appearance on Lois & Clark.[19]

Hatcher at Desperate Housewives Paley Fest in 2009

A report in November 2010 suggested that Hatcher, along with co-star Felicity Huffman, would be quitting Desperate Housewives, but ABC denied the claim.[20] Hatcher later addressed the rumors of her departure from Desperate Housewives, saying that "[t]here are not enough adjectives to describe how stupid, off base, and ridiculously untrue this is".[21] However, after the show concluded in 2012, media sources revealed an apparent rift with her co-stars. It has been widely speculated that the cast did not get along well with Hatcher.[22][23][24] Eva Longoria, Felicity Huffman, Marcia Cross, and Vanessa Williams gave thank-you gifts to the crew from the show which included a message with their names inscribed at the end, and Hatcher's name was distinctly absent.[24] TV Guide source, William Keck, revealed that "something went down" between Hatcher and the cast that caused a rift, and also observed how Hatcher would physically distance herself from the others during breaks in filming.[24] On her end, Hatcher said to TV Guide that "I will never disclose the true and complicated journey of us all, but I wish everyone on the show well."[22]

In 2011, Men's Health magazine named Hatcher #38 on their "Hottest Women of All Time" list.[25]

2013–present: Post-Desperate Housewives work[edit]

Hatcher on the red carpet in 1995

Hatcher voiced Dottie in the films Planes (2013) and Planes: Fire & Rescue (2014). In 2016, Hatcher had a recurring role as Charlotte, a successful single mother who becomes Oscar's (Matthew Perry) love interest in the second season of the comedy series The Odd Couple. In 2017, Hatcher appeared as Queen Rhea of Daxam in a recurring role on The CW series Supergirl.

In 2018, Hatcher debuted a YouTube channel called Hatching Change. After 132 segments, it ceased updating in 2022. [26] Hatcher, an enthusiastic baker who took cooking lessons, won the Food Network celebrity episode of Chopped.[27] She also won The Great British Bake Off Stand Up to Cancer episode in 2018. Teri Hatcher narrated the Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle.

Personal life[edit]

Hatcher, with daughter Emerson, at the World of Color premiere (2010)

Hatcher married Marcus Leithold, of Butler, Pennsylvania, on June 4, 1988; they divorced the following year.[7] On May 27, 1994, she married actor Jon Tenney; they had a daughter, Emerson, born in 1997. They divorced in March 2003.[7]

In 2007, Hatcher began writing a column for Glamour magazine.[28]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1989 The Big Picture Gretchen
Tango & Cash Katherine "Kiki" Tango
1991 Soapdish Ariel Maloney
1992 Straight Talk Janice
1993 Brainsmasher... A Love Story Samantha Crain Direct-to-video
1994 The Cool Surface Dani Payson
1994 All Tied Up Linda Alissio
1996 Dead Girl Passer-By
Heaven's Prisoners Claudette Rocque
2 Days in the Valley Becky Foxx
1997 Tomorrow Never Dies Paris Carver
1999 Fever Charlotte Parker
2001 Spy Kids Ms. Gradenko
2007 Resurrecting the Champ Andrea Flak
2009 Coraline Coraline's Mother / The Other Mother (The Beldam) Voice role
2013 Planes Dottie Voice role
2014 Planes: Fire & Rescue Dottie Voice role
2016 Sundown Janice
2019 Madness in the Method Geena

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1985–1986 The Love Boat Amy, Love Boat Mermaid 19 episodes
1986–1990 MacGyver Penny Parker 6 episodes
1986–1987 Capitol Angelica Stimac Clegg 5 episodes
1987 Karen's Song Laura Matthews 13 episodes
Night Court Kitty Daniels Season 5, Episode 7: "Who Was That Mashed Man?"
1988 CBS Summer Playhouse Lauri Stevens Episode: "Baby on Board"
Star Trek: The Next Generation Lieutenant Bronwyn Gail Robinson Episode: "The Outrageous Okona"
1989 L.A. Law Tracy Shoe Episode: "I'm in the Nude for Love"
Quantum Leap Donna Eleese Episode: "Star-Crossed"
1990 Murphy Brown Madeline Stillwell Episode: "Fax or Fiction"
Tales from the Crypt Stacy Episode: "The Thing from the Grave"
1991 The Brotherhood Teresa Gennaro Movie
Sunday Dinner T.T. Fagori 6 episodes
Dead in the Water Laura Stewart Movie
The Exile Marissa Episode: "Eclipse"
1993–1997 Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Lois Lane Main role (87 episodes)
1993–1998 Seinfeld Sidra Holland 3 episodes
1998 Since You've Been Gone Maria Goldstein Movie
Frasier Marie Episode: "First Do No Harm"
2000 Running Mates Shawna Morgan Movie
2001 Say Uncle Unknown Movie
2001 Jane Doe Jane Doe Movie
2003 Momentum Jordan Ripps Movie
2004–2012 Desperate Housewives Susan Mayer Delfino Lead role (180 episodes)
2004 Two and a Half Men Liz Episode: "I Remember the Coatroom, I Just Don't Remember You"
2010 Smallville Ella Lane Episode: "Abandoned"
2012 Jane by Design Kate Quimby 4 episodes[29]
2013–2014 Jake and the Never Land Pirates Beatrice LeBeak 8 episodes; voice role
2016–2017 The Odd Couple Charlotte Recurring role (11 episodes)
2017 Supergirl Rhea, Queen of Daxam Recurring role (8 episodes)
2021 A Kiss Before Christmas Joyce Hallmark TV film
2022 Mid-Love Crisis Mindy Quinn TV film
2023 Fantasy Island Dolly Episode: "Paymer vs. Paymer"
2023 Christmas at the Chalet Lex Riley Hallmark film

Awards and nominations[edit]

Honors[edit]

Accolades[edit]

Association Year Category Title Result
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C 2018 Star Baker Won
Gold Derby Awards 2005 Comedy Lead Actress Desperate Housewives Nominated
2005 Ensemble of the Year Desperate Housewives Nominated
Golden Globe Awards 2005 Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Desperate Housewives Won
2006 Best Actress in a Television Series – Comedy or Musical Desperate Housewives Nominated
Golden Raspberry Awards 1997 Worst Supporting Actress Heaven's Prisoners

2 Days in the Valley

Nominated
Online Film & Television Association Awards 2005 Best Actress in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
People's Choice Awards 2006 Favorite Female Television Star Desperate Housewives Nominated
Primetime Emmy Awards 2005 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
Prism Awards 2008 Performance in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
Satellite Awards 2005 Best Actress in a Series – Comedy or Musical Desperate Housewives Nominated
Saturn Awards 1998 Best Supporting Actress Tomorrow Never Dies Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards 2005 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Won
2005 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Won
2006 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Won
2007 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
2008 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
2009 Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Desperate Housewives Nominated
Teen Choice Awards 2006 Choice TV Actress – Comedy Desperate Housewives Nominated
2017 Choice TV – Villain Supergirl Nominated
Television Critics Association Awards 2005 Individual Achievement in Comedy Desperate Housewives Nominated
Viewers for Quality Television Awards 1994 Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Nominated

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Teri Hatcher". Inside the Actors Studio.
  2. ^ a b c "Notable Alumni, Teri Hatcher". California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. Archived from the original on April 6, 2020. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  3. ^ "Teri Hatcher". Inside the Actors Studio. My mom is French, German, Syrian and my dad is Welsh, American Indian.
  4. ^ a b Bennetts, Leslie (April 2006). "Teri Hatcher's Desperate Hour". Vanity Fair. New York City: Condé Nast. Retrieved February 22, 2008.
  5. ^ "Hatcher reveals child abuse past". BBC News. March 8, 2006. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  6. ^ Webby, Sean (August 21, 2008). "Child molester who Teri Hatcher helped put in prison dies of colon cancer". Mercury News. Retrieved August 21, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Teri Hatcher- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  8. ^ TV Guide Book of Lists. Running Press. 2007. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-7624-3007-9.
  9. ^ "Teri Hatcher biography". People.
  10. ^ Johns, Elizabeth (May 2, 1997). "Teri Hatcher Pregnant". E!. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2007.
  11. ^ a b "Loading..." Terihatcheronline.com.
  12. ^ "AmIAnnoying.com – Celebrity Sleuth's 25 Sexiest [1997]". Amiannoying.com.
  13. ^ a b "AmIAnnoying.com". Amiannoying.com.
  14. ^ "'Housewives,' 'Sellers' lead Emmy pack". CNN. August 30, 2005. Retrieved February 24, 2008.
  15. ^ "Teri Hatcher, FHM Magazine February 2005 Cover Photo – United States". FamousFix.com.
  16. ^ "Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women [2006]". Amiannoying.com.
  17. ^ Ausiello, Michael (September 22, 2010). "'Smallville' Exclusive: Teri Hatcher to play Lois' mom!". Entertainment Weekly.
  18. ^ Andrew Landis & Julia Swfit (writers); Kevin Fair (director) (November 12, 2010). "Abandoned". Smallville. Season 10. Episode 8. The CW.
  19. ^ Dan Levine (writer); Alan J. Levi (director) (May 8, 1994). "The House of Luthor". Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. Season 1. Episode 21. ABC.
  20. ^ "Hatcher and Huffman leaving Desperate Housewives: report". The Spy Report. Media Spy. November 22, 2010. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  21. ^ "Teri Hatcher Calls Reports Of 'Desperate Housewives' Exit 'Stupid, Off Base'". Access Hollywood. November 22, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "'Desperate Housewives' Dirt Unearthed Before Series Finale". ABC News. May 11, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  23. ^ "'Desperate Housewives' Cast Saddened By Teri Hatcher Feud". HuffPost. May 14, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  24. ^ a b c "'Something went down' – Desperate Housewives feud revealed". NZ Herald. May 10, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  25. ^ "100 Hottest Women of All-Time". Men's Health. US. December 10, 2011. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  26. ^ Schreffler, Laura (February 5, 2018). "Why Teri Hatcher Is Driving Around L.A. In A Vintage Van". Haute Living. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  27. ^ Holiday Chopped Celebrity episode Food Network
  28. ^ "Teri is new Glamour columnist". Metro. May 14, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  29. ^ "Teri Hatcher to Make Directorial Debut and Guest Star on ABC Family's 'Jane By Design' – Ratings | TVbytheNumbers". Tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2012. Retrieved April 30, 2012.

External links[edit]