Teri Polo is a well-known American actress, model, and dancer. After shifting her interest from dancing to modelling early on in her life, the celebrity we will be talking about today has gone on to achieve greatness in her career as an actress.
Today, we talk about Teri Polo’s early life, childhood days, her ballet lessons, move to New York, and subsequent Rise to Fame!
Early Life
Theresa Elizabeth Polo was born in the capital city of the US state of Delaware, Dover on June 1, 1969. Teri Polo has two siblings, Mike Polo, and Steve Polo. Her mother Jane did not work as a professional rather was a homemaker. Teri Polo’s father Vincent Polo was an expert stereo system designer.
Teri Polo comes from a hybrid Italian, German, and English ancestry. Talking about her ancestors, Teri Polo is the granddaughter of Vincent Masters Polo, Violet Elizabeth Lewis from her father’s side. From her mother’s side, Teri’s grandparents are James Herman Gentry, and Dorothy Everhart.
Teri Polo Drops Out Of High School
At the tender age of 5, Teri Polo had started taking lessons on ballet, a popular form of Italian and Russian classical dance. She studied the art of ballet for 13 years and went on to attend the New York School of American Ballet.
When she was 15, Teri Polo was a part of the Delaware Regional Ballet team. At 16, she decided to drop out of high school. This was a decision fuelled by her victory in a local fashion show for blue jeans advert in Seventeen magazine.
Teri Polo shifted from her initial interest in dancing towards modelling and fashion and lifestyle, she was fortunate enough to win a contract from Elite Petite Division modelling agency.
Now Teri Polo had to take a call to progress further in her career as an actress. This is when the actress-cum-model decided to move to New York City at the age of 17.
Television Debut
She was just a teenager when she appeared in the ABC soap opera named Loving. She played the role of Kristin Larsen. Later on, Teri Polo also featured in the CBS American television drama series titled TV 101 alongside Sam Robards, Brynn Thayer, Leon Russom and Andrew Cassese.
In her 20’s, Teri Polo played the role of Christine Daae in the miniseries The Phantom of the Opera. In the Brimstone show, Polo played the character of Detective Ash which received critical acclaim from the crowd. This was one of the best performances of her career so far.
Teri Polo started to be invited as a guest to appear in TV shows owing to her successful performances in the past. She was cast in a guest role in the 6th and 7th seasons of The West Wing in which she portrayed Helen Santos. Northern Exposure is another such show in which Polo was seen as a recurring guest.
Apart from these, Polo has guest-starred on many TV shows, including The Practice, Felicity, Chicago Hope, Numb3rs, Sports Night, and Ghost Whisperer. That’s quite a list, isn’t it?
Teri Polo Makes It To The Big Screen
In 2002, Teri Polo made it to Maxim’s list of Hot 100 Women of 2002. She ranked #40. Three years down the lane, in 2005, Polo rekindled her modelling talent by posing for the nude magazine, Playboy. The text on her photograph said ‘She’s one hot Focker’ which hinted towards the 2004 comedy movie Meet the Fockers.
She was a member of the cast in the 2006 movie Legacy of Fear. The next year, Teri Polo upped her game a bit and landed a role in the Hallmark Channel movie ‘Love is a Four-Letter Word’. Hallmark Channel tapped her talent again two years later for the movie titled Expecting a Miracle. Teri Polo was seen with other successful actors Jason Priestley, and Cheech Marin.
By now Teri had established herself as a former model and an active actress who worked in Television as well as movies. A horror-styled classic fantasy movie ‘The Hole’ starred Teri Polo in a pivotal role.
One of the best-known movie performances of Polo was her role as a Diego police officer Stef Adams Foster in the ABC Family series The Fosters.
Love Life
Teri Polo and professional photographer Anthony Moore eloped in Las Vegas, Nevada, one day after becoming engaged in a Sears store. They tied the knot in April of 1997. Teri has one son from this marriage named Griffin. Griffin was born in 2002 and three years later, Teri Polo and her husband Anthony Moore separated.
Teri Polo later married Jamie Wollam who was a drummer by profession. The actress had met her new love on the sets of one of her projects. At the time they were dating, Jamie Wollam already had a son named Carter Wollam. Teri Polo and Jamie had a daughter named Bayley in 2007 and five years later, this relationship of Polo also came to an end.
Filing For Bankruptcy
After a love life crisis, Teri Polo moved to North Carolina in 2009 with her two children. She sold off her five-bedroom, 3,077 square-foot house at a $550,000 loss. She had originally purchased the property in Los Angeles County, Manhattan Beach for $2.5 million but had to sell it for just $1.95 million.
In April 2014, the actress officially filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy, declaring less than $50,000 in assets after owing 3/4 million in back taxes and debts in excess of $800,000.
To put Teri Polo’s complete journey to fame in a nutshell, one shall say that Teri Polo is an impeccable Actress, Fashion Model, and Dancer who learnt the ropes of the showbiz industry at a young age and went on to make history!
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