Born Helen Luella Koford on January 7, 1929, the Los Angeles, California native worked as a model before she made her film debut at age 11 in 20th Century Fox's Maryland (1940). Throughout the 1940s, she worked under a variety of names (her own, Judy Ford and January Ford) before settling on Terry Moore in 1948. Placed under contract by Columbia, Moore was loaned out to RKO for one of her most famous films, RKO's Mighty Joe Young (1949); she received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Paramount's Come Back, Little Sheba (1952). In the 1970s, she was in the news more than she was in motion pictures, asserting that she was the secret wife of the late billionaire Howard Hughes. She has starred in 77 feature films and listed among her leading men are Hollywood's leading legends; including Burt Lancaster, John Wayne, Cary Grant, Tyrone Power, Glenn Ford, Mickey Rooney and Robert Wagner. Since she was a pilot herself, Terry played a major role in preparing Leonardo DiCaprio for his portrayal of Howard Hughes in The Aviator (2004).
Movie | Merrily | Betty Clurman | 2023-11-29 |
Movie | Frank and Ava | Self | 2020-12-07 |
Movie | Mansion of Blood | Natalie | 2015-07-15 |
Movie | Aimy in a Cage | Grandma Micry | 2015-09-08 |
Movie | Monster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film | Self | 2014-08-01 |
Movie | Comic Book Literacy | Himself | 2009-11-01 |
Movie | Kill Your Darlings | Ella Toscana | 2006-04-12 |
Movie | Buzz | 2005-04-05 | |
Movie | Rita | Self | 2003-09-09 |
Movie | Stageghost | Olive | 2000-01-01 |
Movie | Final Voyage | Christina | 2000-06-20 |
Movie | Second Chances | Dallas Judd | 1998-09-01 |
Movie | Mighty Joe Young | Elegant Woman at Party | 1998-12-25 |
Movie | Burt Lancaster: Daring to Reach | Self | 1996-03-15 |
Movie | Marilyn and Me | Woman at Hyde's Funeral | 1991-09-22 |
Movie | Beverly Hills Brats | Veronica | 1989-10-06 |
Movie | Going Overboard | Mistress | 1989-05-11 |
Movie | Hoodwinked | Sally | 1989-11-15 |
Movie | W.A.R.: Women Against Rape | Mrs. McCormack | 1987-01-01 |
Movie | Hellhole | Sidnee Hammond | 1985-03-15 |
Movie | Death Dimension | Madam Maria | 1978-07-01 |
Movie | Smash-Up on Interstate 5 | Trudy | 1976-02-02 |
Movie | The Daredevil | Julie Thompson | 1972-01-01 |
Movie | Mean Justice | Connie Garrett | 1971-02-08 |
Movie | The Weird World of Weird | 1970-01-01 | |
Movie | Quarantined | Martha Atkinson | 1970-02-24 |
Movie | A Man Called Dagger | Harper Davis | 1968-01-31 |
Movie | Waco | Dolly | 1966-09-01 |
Movie | Black Spurs | Anna Elkins | 1965-05-28 |
Movie | City of Fear | Suzan | 1965-08-01 |
Movie | Town Tamer | Susan Tavenner | 1965-07-07 |
Movie | She Should Have Stayed in Bed | The Model | 1963-09-19 |
Series | Empire | Connie Garrett | 1962-09-25 |
Movie | Platinum High School | Jennifer Evans | 1960-05-13 |
Movie | Why Must I Die | Lois King | 1960-06-01 |
Movie | A Private's Affair | Louise Wright | 1959-08-14 |
Movie | Cast a Long Shadow | Janet Calvert | 1959-08-24 |
Movie | Bernardine | Jean Cantrick | 1957-07-24 |
Movie | Peyton Place | Betty Anderson | 1957-12-13 |
Movie | No Right to Kill | Lisa | 1956-08-09 |
Movie | Between Heaven and Hell | Jenny Gifford | 1956-10-11 |
Movie | Daddy Long Legs | Linda Pendleton | 1955-05-05 |
Movie | Portrait of Alison | Alison Ford | 1955-11-29 |
Movie | Shack Out on 101 | Kotty | 1955-12-04 |
Movie | Man on a Tightrope | Tereza Cernik | 1953-05-21 |
Movie | Beneath the 12-Mile Reef | Gwyneth Rhys | 1953-12-02 |
Movie | King of the Khyber Rifles | Susan Maitland | 1953-12-23 |
Movie | Come Back, Little Sheba | Marie Buckholder | 1952-12-24 |
Movie | Two of a Kind | Kathy McIntyre | 1951-07-01 |
Movie | Sunny Side of the Street | Betty Holloway | 1951-09-01 |
Movie | The Barefoot Mailman | Adie Titus | 1951-12-03 |
Movie | The Great Rupert | Rosalinda Amendola | 1950-03-01 |
Movie | Gambling House | Lynn Warren | 1950-12-27 |
Movie | He's a Cockeyed Wonder | Judy Sears | 1950-12-02 |
Movie | Mighty Joe Young | Jill Young | 1949-07-27 |
Movie | Summer Holiday | Hatcheck Girl (uncredited) | 1948-04-15 |
Movie | The Return of October | Terry Ramsey | 1948-10-26 |
Movie | The Devil On Wheels | Rusty Davis (as Jan Ford) | 1947-02-15 |
Movie | Heartaches | Girl in Movie with Vic (uncredited) | 1947-06-28 |
Movie | Shadowed | Virginia 'Ginny' Johnson (as Helen Koford) | 1946-09-26 |
Movie | Son of Lassie | Thea (as Helen Koford) | 1945-04-20 |
Movie | The Clock | Girl at Museum (uncredited) | 1945-05-25 |
Movie | Gaslight | Paula Alquist, age 14 (uncredited) | 1944-05-04 |
Movie | Since You Went Away | Refugee Child on Train (uncredited) | 1944-06-30 |
Movie | Sweet and Low-Down | Snub-Nosed Girl on Dance Floor (uncredited) | 1944-09-21 |
Movie | True to Life | Little Girl (uncredited) | 1943-12-24 |
Movie | On the Sunny Side | Schoolgirl (uncredited) | 1942-02-13 |
Movie | My Gal Sal | Carrie Dreiser (uncredited) | 1942-04-30 |
Movie | A-Haunting We Will Go | Dante's Young Admirer (uncredited) | 1942-08-07 |
Movie | One Foot in Heaven | Choir Member (uncredited) | 1941-11-01 |
Movie | Maryland | Linda - Age 10 (uncredited) | 1940-07-19 |
Movie | The Howards of Virginia | Neighbor Girl (uncredited) | 1940-09-19 |