Lisa Kudrow is reflecting on her late TV mother, Teri Garr. The 61-year-old 'Friends' actress recently honored Garr, the Oscar-nominated comedy legend who passed away on Tuesday. 'Teri Garr was a comedic acting genius who has and continues to be a significant influence on me, and I know I'm not the only one,' Kudrow told People in a statement. 'I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with Teri Garr.'

Garr made her debut on 'Friends' in 1997, portraying Phoebe Abbott, the estranged birth mother of Kudrow's character, Phoebe Buffay, as well as Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula Buffay (also played by Kudrow). In the Season 3 finale, 'The One at the Beach,' Phoebe took a break from the group's beach outing to search for a woman she believed had information about her birth parents. It was revealed that the woman (Garr) was actually Phoebe's biological mother.

Garr reprised her role as Abbott in two more episodes of 'Friends': 'The One with the Jellyfish' and 'The One with Phoebe's Uterus,' both airing in 1998 during the show's fourth season. Garr's death was confirmed by her publicist, Heidi Schaeffer, who informed The Post that the star passed away on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles following a long struggle with multiple sclerosis. Garr was reportedly surrounded by family and friends at the time of her passing. She was 79.

Kudrow was among many who paid tribute to the late actress, including her 'Tootsie' co-star Dustin Hoffman. In an exclusive statement to The Post, Hoffman, 87, said, 'Teri was brilliant and unique in everything she did, and she had a heart of gold.' He added, 'Working with her was one of the highlights of my career. There was no one quite like her.'

Garr, renowned for her comedic talent, received an Oscar nomination for her role as the neurotic, perpetually unemployed actress Sandy Lester in the 1982 Sydney Pollack film. She began her acting career on TV, appearing in shows such as 'Star Trek,' 'The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour,' and 'The New Dick Van Dyke Show.' Her breakthrough came in 1974 with a role in Mel Brooks' horror spoof, 'Young Frankenstein.' Garr went on to star in Francis Ford Coppola's thriller 'The Conversation' and Steven Spielberg's sci-fi film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind' before her role in 'Tootsie.' She continued to work in film and TV until 2011. In 2002, Garr disclosed that she had been diagnosed with MS. 'I didn't see any reason to announce it,' Garr said during an interview with CNN's Larry King. 'But now, the good news is there are many effective treatments available.'

Garr suffered a brain aneurysm in 2006 but recovered and returned to acting before retiring in 2011. She is survived by her daughter, Molly O'Neil, 30, and grandson, Tyryn, 6.

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