Teresa "Teri" Austin (born April 17, 1957) is a Canadian animal activist and former actress. She had her greatest acting success in the 1980s and 1990s, and is best known for her role as Jill Bennett in the CBS primetime soap opera Knots Landing, and as co-host of the Canadian reality series Thrill of a Lifetime.
Teri Austin | |
|---|---|
| Born | Teresa Austin (1957-04-17) April 17, 1957 (age 65) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Occupation | Actress, activist |
| Years active | 1983–2001 |
Austin was born and raised in Toronto, Canada.[1] She graduated from York University in Toronto.
Austin began her acting career in Canada where she worked in television, film radio and theatre and co-hosted the show Thrill of a Lifetime before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career there.[2][3]
Austin is best known for her performance as Jill Bennett on CBS series Knots Landing.[4] She played the role from 1985 to 1989, and in 1990 won Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Prime Time.[5] She also appeared in Quantum Leap, Seinfeld, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, L.A. Law, and returned to soap roles in Beverly Hills, 90210 and Models Inc.. In film, she appeared in The Vindicator (1986) and Raising Cain (1992).
In 2001, Austin left acting and began working as animal activist in Los Angeles,[4] creating The Amanda Foundation.[6][7]
| Year | Credit | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985–1989 | Knots Landing | Jill Bennett | Recurring role, 96 episodes |
| 1985 | The Fall Guy | Annie Benton | episode "The King of the Stuntmen" |
| Terminal Choice | Lylah Crane | Feature film | |
| 1986 | The Vindicator | Lauren Lehman | Feature film |
| 1988 | Dangerous Love | Dominique | Feature film |
| 1989 | False Witness | Sandralee Dawson | |
| Street Legal | Alex Roper | episode "See No Evil" | |
| 1990 | Quantum Leap | Dana Barrenger | episode "Her Charm" |
| Cop Rock | Trish Vaughn | Feature film | |
| 1990, 1992 |
Matlock | Liz Bateman (ep1) Beth (ep2) |
episodes "The Talk Show", "The Vacation" |
| 1991 | Seinfeld | Ava | episodes "The Stranded", "The Chinese Restaurant" |
| 1992 | Wings | Shannon Moss | episode "Just Say No" |
| Raising Cain | Karen | Feature film | |
| 1993 | In The Heat Of The Night | Alice | episode "Deadly Affection" |
| Murder, She Wrote | Louise Walton | episode "A Death in Hong Kong" | |
| L.A. Law (TV series) | Morgan Farrell | episode "Rhyme and Punishment" | |
| 1994 | Beverly Hills, 90210 | Ingrid | episodes "A Pig Is a Boy Is a Dog", "Cuffs and Links" |
| Models Inc. | Dinah | episodes "Blind by Love", "Till Death Do Us Part" | |
| 1995 | Baywatch Nights | Lt. Amanda Cash | episode "Pressure Cooker" |
| 1996 | The Dark Mist | Diamond | Feature film |
| 1997 | Diagnosis Murder | Claire Reed | episode "Delusions of Murder" |
| 1998 | Baywatch | Mom | episode "The Natural" |
| 2000 | An American Daughter | Greta | Feature film |
| 2001 | Gangland | Mary Anne Adams | Feature film |