Teri Polo

Biography

Theresa Elizabeth Polo is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the Meet the Parents trilogy (2000–2010). She was one of the stars of the sitcom I’m with Her (2003–2004), had a recurring role as Helen Santos on the political drama series The West Wing (2005–2006) and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the ABC Family series The Fosters (2013–2018) and its spinoff Good Trouble (2019).

Polo was born Theresa Elizabeth Polo in Dover, Delaware. Her mother, Jane (née Gentry), 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’s School of American Ballet. After winning a modeling contest, she moved to New York City at the age of seventeen to pursue an acting career.

In April 1997, Polo married photographer Anthony Moore. They have a son together, Griffin (born 2002). 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.