Teri Austin

Canadian-born actress Teri Austin is best known for her role as seductress Jill Bennett on the long-running primetime soap opera "Knots Landing" from 1985 to 1989. The show was a definite breakout role for the relatively unknown actress and opened up the door for steady work after she was written off the program. Before her role on "Knots Landing," she studied acting at Toronto's York University and, in 1981, landed a job as the co-host of a local talk show called "The Thrill of a Lifetime." Austin moved to Los Angeles in 1984 and snatched the role on the soap after only a few months. She appeared in a handful of programs, one of them the Lee Majors action show "The Fall Guy." Post-"Knots Landing," she guest-starred on numerous programs, including two episodes for the sitcom "Seinfeld" (playing a co-worker of George Costanza's), a small role in Brian De Palma's psychological thriller "Raising Cain," and a small role on the teen soap "Beverly Hills, 90210." When not acting, Austin devotes her time to animal activism and is president of the Amanda Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to rescuing stray cats and dogs.