Teri Polo

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 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.\n', ' Polo\'s acting debut was in TV 101. She also starred in the 1990 miniseries The Phantom of the Opera as Christine Daae. 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 candidate Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits).\n', ' In February 2005, Polo not only appeared on the cover of, but also posed naked in, 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 Network 2006 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 2:13 and the Hallmark Channel movie Expecting a Miracle with Jason Priestley and Cheech Marin. That same year she also starred in The Beacon.\n', '