Teri Lynn Hatcher was born December 8, 1964, in Sunnyvale, California, outside of San Francisco. She was the only child to father Owen, a nuclear physicist and mother Esther, a computer programmer. With her parents' occupations, one would think that Teri was bound for high school glory in the math club or chess team, but destiny would dictate otherwise.

While it is not mentioned in her official biography, we can only suppose that Teri started to develop her world-class body early in life, giving her the social confidence to become captain of Freemont High School's cheerleader squad, known as the Featherettes. Her moves while cheering on the sidelines must have made an impression, as the graduating 1982 class named Teri the most likely to become a Solid Gold Dancer.

After high school, Teri went on to study acting at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco while also pursuing a degree in mathematics and engineering at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. A year later, Teri became a member of the San Francisco 49ers cheerleading squad, known as "The Gold Rush." After the 1984 semester, Teri planned to transfer her credits to the California Polytechnic Institute, but fate stepped in to mix things up once again.

Teri went to Hollywood with a friend to lend support in her friend's bid for an acting job. Teri also went for the part and ended up winning her first paying gig on Aaron Spelling's Love Boat, as part of the Pacific Princess' resident entertainers, The Mermaids.

From her first role, Teri went on to land some smaller TV roles and had her first big film part as an egomaniac actress in the 1989 satire, The Big Picture. She went on to some comic supporting roles in films such as Tango & Cash with Sylvester Stallone, Soap Dish with Whoopi Goldberg, and Straight Talk with Dolly Parton. In 1988, Teri married personal trainer Markus Leithold, but the marriage only lasted 10 months.

In 1993, Teri starred in one of her biggest projects to date, as Lois in every true Superman fanatic's worst nightmare, Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. The show made her a household name and brought her into America's living rooms every week.

In 1994, Teri married actor Jon Tenney (who appeared in You Can Count On Me) and the couple had their first child, a daughter named Emerson Rose, on November 10, 1997.

After a four-year run with Lois & Clark, Teri remained a force in Hollywood with high-profile roles in the 007 extravaganza Tomorrow Never Dies and 2 Days In The Valley (in which she has a physical fight with Charlize Theron), but she is still well-known for her role as Jerry's girlfriend on Seinfeld, who tells Jerry that her breasts are "real, and they're spectacular."

Taking some time off to take on a whole new role as mom, Teri was seen in the 2001 film, Spy Kids. After enjoying some time as a proud spokesperson for Radio Shack and appearing in made-for-TV movies like 2001's Jane Doe and Say Uncle, and 2003's Momentum, Teri was cast as single mom Susan Mayer in ABC's hit series, Desperate Housewives. Not only did the show enjoy a strong debut in the ratings, but Teri was awarded the Best Actress in a Television Series (Musical or Comedy) Golden Globe in 2005.