Teri Hatcher

Teri Lynn Hatcher was born on December 8, 1964, in Palo Alto, California, the only child of Esther Beshur, a computer programmer employed by Lockheed Martin, and Owen Walker Hatcher Jr., a nuclear physicist and electrical engineer. She grew up in Sunnyvale, California, where she took ballet lessons at the San Juan School of Dance in Los Altos. Hatcher later studied mathematics and engineering at De Anza College before pursuing performance training at the American Conservatory Theater.

Hatcher's early professional work included a 1984 stint as an NFL cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers. From September 1985 to May 1986, she joined the cast of The Love Boat as Amy, one of the Mermaid showgirls, a role that involved dancing, singing, and occasional comedic dialogue. Between 1986 and 1989, she appeared in six episodes of MacGyver as Penny Parker, opposite Richard Dean Anderson. Additional television appearances during this period included Karen's Song (1987), a guest role on Night Court (1987), a brief appearance in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Outrageous Okona" (1988), and guest spots on Quantum Leap and L.A. Law in 1989. Her film work in 1989 included a minor role in The Big Picture and a supporting part as a dancer in the Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell film Tango & Cash.

In 1991, Hatcher co-starred in the CBS comedy Sunday Dinner, playing a lawyer in a relationship with a widowed businessman portrayed by Robert Loggia. That same year she appeared in the television crime film Dead in the Water. In late 1991, she was featured as Michael Bolton's love interest in the music video for his song "Missing You Now." A 1993 guest appearance on Seinfeld, in which she played a character named Sidra, drew considerable attention; she reprised the role in two subsequent episodes, including the series finale.

Hatcher's most prominent television role of the 1990s came when she was cast as Lois Lane on the ABC series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, opposite Dean Cain, a role she held from 1993 to 1997. She also co-wrote a season three episode of the series titled "It's A Small World After All." In 1996, she hosted Saturday Night Live on NBC. The following year, she was cast as Paris Carver in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), a role she won over other candidates including Monica Bellucci. Hatcher was three months pregnant at the start of filming.

In 1998, Hatcher made her Broadway debut in Cabaret. Her stage appearance came the same year she had established herself as a prominent figure in both film and television.

Beginning in 2004, Hatcher starred as Susan Mayer on the ABC series Desperate Housewives, a role she held through 2012. For that performance, she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Series in January 2005 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in the same category later that year. She also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in July 2005, alongside co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman. Hatcher additionally received two Screen Actors Guild Awards as part of the show's ensemble cast.

Beyond live-action work, Hatcher provided voices in the animated film Coraline (2009), playing both Mel Jones and the Beldam. Her other film credits include a role in Spy Kids (2001), as well as appearances in the ensemble crime drama 2 Days in the Valley (1996) and Heaven's Prisoners (1996), co-starring Alec Baldwin.