Teri Garr, actress, comedian, and ambassador for multiple sclerosis, has passed away.

Garr was born into a show business family, the daughter of an actor and a costumer. She trained in ballet and dance as a youngster before appearing in nine Elvis films, including Viva Las Vegas and Clambake. She also turned up in the Annette Funicello 1964 film, Pajama Party.

Following a string of small roles, often uncredited, in classic shows like Batman, The Andy Griffith Show, and That Girl, Garr appeared in the role that she would consider her "big break": the season two finale episode of Star Trek, "Assignment: Earth".

"Assignment: Earth" was intended as a backdoor pilot for a spin-off series that never materialized. In it, the Enterprise travels back to 1968 for historical research, only to encounter an interstellar secret agent named Gary Seven attempting to alter 20th-century history. Garr plays Roberta Lincoln, a secretary to missing agents, who ends up helping Seven with his mission. The potential series would have presumably followed Seven and Lincoln as they completed other missions for the well-being of mankind.

The same year, Garr had her first speaking film role in The Monkees' Head. Appearances on M*A*S*H, The Bob Newhart Show, and more followed.

In 1974, Gene Wilder recommended Garr to Brooks for his upcoming film, Young Frankenstein. Garr landed the part of Inga, the lab assistant to Wilder's Frankenstein, by imitating the accent of Cher's German hairdresser who she had met working on The Sonny & Cher Show. The comedy was a smash hit and became the third highest-grossing film of 1974 in the U.S.

After Frankenstein, Garr's career took off. She starred in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, acted opposite Michael Keaton in Mr. Mom, and portrayed Gene Hackman's girlfriend in The Conversation, among others. Her sole Oscar nomination came from her role in 1982's Tootsie, where she played Dustin Hoffman's actress friend, Sandy.

In 1999, Garr was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which she had been experiencing symptoms of for years. The illness led to her taking fewer and smaller roles, including a recurring role as Phoebe's mother in Friends.

Garr retired from acting in 2011, but continued activism for MS: she served as a national ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and chaired the organization’s Woman Against MS programs.

Garr was 79 years old.