Teri Austin

Teresa "Teri" Austin, born on April 17, 1957 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a Canadian actress turned animal activist whose career spans several decades of television, film, and advocacy work. Raised in Toronto, she attended North Albion Collegiate Institute before earning a degree at York University, where she honed her performance skills in theatre and campus productions. After graduation she launched her professional life in Canadian media, appearing in local television, radio, and stage shows, and co‑hosting the pioneering reality series Thrill of a Lifetime, which gave her early exposure to a national audience. Seeking broader opportunities, Austin moved to Los Angeles in the mid‑1980s where she secured the role of Jill Bennett on the CBS primetime soap Knots Landing. Her portrayal of the scheming and complex character earned critical acclaim, culminating in a 1990 Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villain: Prime Time, and solidified her status as a household name throughout the late 1980s. In addition to Knots Landing, she made memorable guest appearances on popular series such as Quantum Leap, Seinfeld, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, L.A. Law, as well as later roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Models Inc., demonstrating her versatility across genres. Austin also ventured into film, appearing in the sci‑fi thriller The Vindicator (1986) and the psychological drama Raising Cain (1992). In 2001 she made a decisive career shift, leaving acting to devote herself to animal welfare, founding The Amanda Foundation in Los Angeles, an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating abused animals. Through fundraising events, public speaking, and hands‑on rescue work, she has become a respected voice in the activist community, leveraging her celebrity to promote humane treatment of animals. Today, Teri Austin continues to champion animal rights while maintaining a legacy as a talented performer whose contributions to television remain celebrated by fans and colleagues alike.