Teri Garr’s Health: A Look at the Late ‘Tootsie’ Star’s Battle with Multiple Sclerosis

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Teri Garr has recently passed away, more than twenty years after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She was 79.

The news was announced by her publicist, Heidi Schaeffer, on October 29, stating that Garr died peacefully on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, surrounded by family and friends.

Here’s everything you need to know about the disease and Garr’s lengthy battle with it.

What Is Multiple Sclerosis (MS)?

Garr once described multiple sclerosis as “a strange disease,” and she wasn’t wrong. MS is a chronic condition of the central nervous system—the brain and spinal cord—that is highly unpredictable. Its effects can vary widely; some individuals may experience mild symptoms, while others may lose the ability to see clearly, write, speak, or walk.

In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) surrounding nerve fibers, resulting in communication issues between the brain and the rest of the body. Over time, this can lead to permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers. The term “sclerosis” refers to the scarring caused by the disease, which manifests as lesions or plaques in the brain or spinal cord.

Is MS curable?

There is currently no cure for multiple sclerosis. Once diagnosed, MS remains a lifelong condition, but treatments and specialists can help manage the disease and its symptoms.

When was Garr diagnosed with MS?

Garr was diagnosed with MS in 1999. By that year, her symptoms had become so severe that she sought medical advice, leading to her diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

However, she didn’t publicly reveal her illness until 2002, when she announced it during a press conference at the New York Academy of Sciences.

Actress Teri Garr speaks at a press conference to publically announce she has Multiple Sclerosis at New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. October 9, 2002. Photo by Evan Agostini/Getty Images

How Did Garr Navigate Life with MS?

After going public, Garr became a spokesperson for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, delivering humorous speeches at gatherings across the U.S. and Canada. In 2005, she stated, “You have to find your center and roll with the punches because it’s hard to have people pity you. Just trying to explain to people that I’m OK is tiresome.”

That same year, Garr released her autobiography, Speedbumps: Flooring It Through Hollywood. However, in 2006, she suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm that left her in a coma for a week. After working with a therapist, she regained her speech and motor skills and made a triumphant return to television, appearing on David Letterman‘s talk show to promote her film Expired.

What Is Garr Best Known For?

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Garr starred in some of the biggest films of her time, including The Conversation, Mr. Mom, Oh God!, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. However, her breakout role came as the sexy Inga in Young Frankenstein alongside Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks.

She then gained widespread acclaim for her performance in Tootsie, which earned her an Oscar nomination for her role as Dustin Hoffman‘s neurotic girlfriend, Sandy, in the 1982 film.

Teri Garr toasts in a scene from the film ‘Tootsie’, 1982. (Photo by Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)

Martie Cook, a comedy professor at Emerson College, remarked that Garr perfected and inverted the stereotype of “the smart dumb blonde,” with her rueful cleverness adding depth to the ditzy roles she often portrayed. Legendary New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael, known for her sharp critiques of actors and directors, also praised Garr, describing her as “the funniest neurotic dizzy dame on the screen.”