Struggling Starlet! Actress Teri Garr’s Frightening Multiple Sclerosis Ordeal -- Her Pain Revealed In 12 Photos
April 23 2015, Published 7:16 a.m. ET
Teri Garr, an Academy Award nominated actress that was once the considered to be the funniest lady in show business, is dealing with a not-so-funny battle with multiple sclerosis and will mostly be confined to a wheel-chair for the rest of her life. Click through these 12 terrifying photos exclusive to RadarOnline.com to see how the brave actress is coping with the awful illness.
The 67-year-old actress, who was nominated for an Academy Award in the 1982 film Tootsie, began battling multiple sclerosis in the late 1990’s, but didn’t publicly confirm her diagnosis until 2002.
Four years after confirming that she had MS, Garr suffered another health crisis when she was rushed to the hospital for a potentially fatal brain aneurism.
Garr abruptly retired from on screen work in 2007, years after winning over a new generation of fans with her work as Phoebe's mother on the hit sitcom Friends.
In a rare outing on April 14th, an eyewitness tells RadarOnline.com exclusively that "Teri appeared to be a shell of her former self.
"It's so sad to see what MS has done to her," says the source.
- Teri Garr’s Tragic Final Secret: Late ‘Tootsie’ Star Spent Years Desperately Covering Up Crippling MS As She Feared Roles Would Dry Up If It Came Out
- Teri Garr’s Tragic Secret She Took to Grave: How Late Oscar-Nominated 'Tootsie' Actress Hoped Miracle Cure Would Save Her From Multiple Sclerosis
- Destroyed By Disease: Inside Teri Garr’s Sad Last Days
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"Teri can barely lift her legs," the insider tells Radar.
"She can only walk a few feet with the help of a cane."
"When you do see Teri, she has on easy-to-wear clothing and big sunglasses," says source.
"Her nurse will take her out to stretch her legs for a few minutes each day, and sometimes Teri will be taken for lunch to get out of the house."
Her last public outing was on Sept. 2014 when she managed to attend a 40th anniversary celebration of Young Frankenstein.
"It appears that Teri's now in a constant struggle, and her only companion is her caregiving nurse," revealed the insider. Another source added that Garr's spirits are kept up by her 21-year-old adopted daughter, Molly, who visits her mother often.
The source tells Radar, "She was once one of America's top funny ladies, but now the laughter is literally gone from her life!"