Teri Polo

Teri Polo
Biographical Information
Gender:	Female
Date of birth:	June 1, 1969
Professional Information
Occupation(s):	Actress
Years active:	1986–present
Credentials
The Fosters Role:	Stef Adams Foster
Good Trouble Role:	Stef Adams Foster

Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress known for her role of Pam Focker in the film Meet the Parents (2000) and its two sequels, Meet the Fockers (2004) and Little Fockers (2010). She was one of the stars in the sitcom I'm with Her, as well as the political drama series The West Wing.

She portrays Stef Adams Foster in the ABC Family series, The Fosters and its spin-off, Good Trouble.

Personal Life

Polo was born Theresa Elizabeth Polo in Dover, Delaware. Her mother, Jane (née Gentry), is a homemaker, and her father, Vincent Polo, is a stereo systems designer. She studied ballet for 12 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 17 to pursue an acting career. In April 1997, Polo married photographer Anthony Moore. In 2005, Polo and Moore were divorced. In 2006, while on the set of a video, she met drummer Jamie Wollam (of the bands Avion, Venice and recently Drake Bell). She has two children: a son with Moore, and a daughter with Wollam.

Career

Polo's primetime debut was in TV 101. She also starred in the 1990 miniseries The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daae. Polo played Detective Ash on the TV series Brimstone and became a regular cast member on the last season of Northern Exposure. 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 appeared on the cover, as well as posed nude for, Playboy. The 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 #42 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002. 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 TV movie Expecting a Miracle with Jason Priestley and Cheech Marin. That same year she also starred in The Beacon (2009).

She was in the 2009 television pilot for Washington Field. The show was about the National Capital 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 interest. In 2010, Polo reprised her role as Pam Focker in Little Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Parents (2000) and Meet the Fockers (2004). She appeared in the 1980s-styled horror fantasy film, The Hole.

Polo has guest-starred on many TV shows, including The Practice, Felicity, Chicago Hope, Numb3rs, Sports Night, Frasier, Medium, Law & Order: LA, Castle, and Criminal Minds.

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
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
2011	Beyond
2012	Climbing Life	Beth (rumored)	Pre-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Loving	Kristin Larsen	TV series
1988-1989	TV 101	Amanda Hampton	13 episodes
1990	The Phantom of the Opera	Christine Daee	TV movie
1990	People Like Us	Justine Altemus Slatkin	TV 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	TV movie
1997	Van Helsing Chronicles	Helena Harker	TV movie
1997	A Prayer in the Dark	Janet Hayworth	TV movie
1997	House of Frankenstein 1997	Grace Dawkins	TV movie
1998	Texarkana		TV movie
1998	A Father for Brittany	Kim Lussier	TV movie
1998	The Outer Limits	Sally McCoy	Episode: "Identity Crisis"
1998	The Marriage Fool (Love After Death)	Susan Prescot	TV movie
1998-1999	Brimstone	Det. Sgt. Delilah Ash / Ashur Badaktu	6 episodes
1999	Sugar Hill		TV 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	TV movie
2003	Straight from the Heart	Jordan Donovan	TV 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		TV movie
2006	For the Love of a Child	Yvonne	TV movie
2006	Legacy of Fear	Det. Jeanne 'JJ' Joyce	TV movie
2007	Numb3rs	Rachel Willons	Episode: "Nine Wives"
2007	Love Is a Four Letter Word	Emily Bennett	TV movie
2007	The Wedding Bells	Jane Bell	4 episodes
2008	Finnegan	Det. Erin Finnegan	TV 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	TV movie
2009	Ghost Whisperer	Nikki	Episode: "This Joint's Haunted" Episode: "Body of Water"
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	TV movie
2010	Medium	Mary-Louise Graff	Episode: "It's a Wonderful Death"
2010	Glory Daze	Prof. Larsen	Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "Fake Me Home Tonight"
2010-2011	Law & Order: LA	Casey Winters	Episode: "Echo Park" Episode: "Zuma Canyon" Episode: "Hayden Tract"
2011	Castle	Kayla Baron	Episode: "Pretty Dead"
2011	We Have Your Husband	Jayne Valseca	TV movie
2011	Man Up!	Theresa Hayden Keen	10 episodes
2012	A Taste of Romance	Sara Westbrook	TV movie
2012	Criminal Minds	Maggie Hallman	Episode: "I Love You, Tommy Brown" as a Spree Killer
2013-2018	The Fosters	Stef Adams Foster	Lead role
2019-present	Good Trouble	Stef Adams Foster	Guest role

Triva

• She Grew up in Dover, Delaware.
• Daughter of Jane Polo and Vince Polo
• Straight 'A' student at Holy Cross Elementary School.
• Honors student at Dover High School, Dover DE.
• She and Anthony Moore eloped in Las Vegas one day after becoming engaged in a Sears store.
• Dropped out of Dover High School (Dover, DE) at age 17 to move to NYC and pursue acting.
• Signed by the Petite modeling agency at age 17.
• Studied ballet from age 6 - 17.
• Gave birth to her first child, a boy named Griffin (born summer 2002).
• Her former husband, Anthony Moore, is a photographer.
• Posed in the February 2005 issue of Playboy.
• Has 3 dogs.
• Was featured as #42 in Maxim Magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. (2002)
• Daughter Bayley, with boyfriend Jamie Wollam, born December 20th 2007 in Los Angeles.
• Her boyfriend Jamie Wollam has a son named Carter Wollam.
• Teri and her musician boyfriend, Jamie Wollam, became the parents of a girl, Bailey, on December 20. 2007 in Los Angeles. Bailey weighed in at 7 pounds.
• Took a substantial loss ($550,000) selling her five-bedroom, 3,077-square-foot, Asian-inspired house in Manhattan Beach, California for $1.95 million. She originally paid $2.5 million for it in 2006.

Gallery

Click here to see Teri's gallery.

1/11

External Links

• Teri Polo at

• Facebook Page

• Tumblr Blog