Theresa Elizabeth "Teri" Polo is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the Meet the Parents trilogy. She was one of the stars of the sitcom I'm with Her, had a recurring role as Helen Santos on the political drama series The West Wing and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the ABC Family series The Fosters and its spinoff Good Trouble.
Early life
Polo was born Theresa Elizabeth Polo in Dover, Delaware. Her mother, Jane, is a homemaker, and her father, Vincent Polo, is a stereo systems designer. She is of Italian, English, and German descent. She studied ballet for 13 years beginning at age five. By age 13, she was attending New York'sSchool of American Ballet. After winning a modeling contest, she moved to New York City at the age of seventeen to pursue an acting career.
Career
Polo's acting debut, in 1987, was in the role of Kristin Larsen on the ABC daytime soap operaLoving. The following year, she earned a role in primetime on the short-lived CBS series TV 101. She also starred in the 1990 miniseries The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daae. In 1994, Polo became a regular cast member on the last season of Northern Exposure. She later played Detective Ash on the TV series Brimstone. 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 candidateMatt Santos. In February 2005, Polo posed naked for Playboy magazine. Her 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 No. 40 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002. She was also featured in InStyle. She also starred in the Lifetime Movie Network2006 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 ' and the Hallmark Channel movie Expecting a Miracle with Jason Priestley and Cheech Marin. That same year she also starred in The Beacon. She appeared in the 2009 television pilot for Washington Field, a show about the National Capitol Response Squad, a unit of the FBIcomposed of elite experts in different areas who travel around the world responding to events that concern American interests. In 2010, Polo reprised her role as Pam Focker in Little Fockers, the sequel to Meet the Parents and Meet the Fockers. She also appeared in the 1980s-styled horror fantasy film, The Hole. She co-starred in the ABC Family series The Fosters. Polo played San Diego police officer Stef Adams Foster, a mother to three children and the wife of Lena Adams Foster, along with the two being foster parents to two children. Polo has guest-starred on many TV shows, including The Practice, Felicity, Chicago Hope, Numb3rs, Sports Night, Frasier, Ghost Whisperer, Medium, ', Castle and Criminal Minds.
Personal life
In April 1997, Polo married photographer Anthony Moore. They have a son together, Griffin. In 2005, Polo and Moore divorced. In 2006, while on the set of a video, Polo met drummer Jamie Wollam. They moved in together and had a daughter, Bayley, in 2007, but broke up in 2012.
