Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer

Teri Hatcher is widely considered one of Hollywood's hottest actresses. In the past year she has appeared on the covers of countless magazines - among them In Style, Time, Vanity Fair, Newsweek Entertainment Weekly, FHM, Good Housekeeping and Harper's Bazaar, along with TV Guide and People - and has appeared on such talk shows as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, Live with Regis and Kelly, The View and The Barbara Walters Special.

Hatcher is renowned for her classic beauty and deliciously deadpan delivery, which America tunes in to see every Sunday night on Desperate Housewives. She plays Susan Mayer in the critically acclaimed comedic drama, which premiered in October of 2004 to stellar ratings. A bona fide pop-culture phenomenon, it has quickened pulses nationwide to generate the highest ratings for a network (ABC) in a decade. An Us Weekly reviewer wrote: "'Housewives' whips up a tasty dish of relatable characters (especially Hatcher's scrappy sad sack)."

The much-talked-about role - for which Hatcher earned a 2005 Golden Globe Award (Best Actress in a Leading Role, Musical or Comedy, Television), as well as a 2005 Screen Actors Guild Award (Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series), a 2005 Television Critics Award and a 2005 Emmy Award Nomination - finds her playing a single mom searching for love amid the sometimes sordid, always intriguing goings-on of her suburban neighborhood. The part comes naturally to the actress, who is a single mother to her seven-year-old daughter, Emerson Rose.

Having achieved household-name status in the U.S., Hatcher is becoming an important international star, as "Housewives" proves itself a ratings blockbuster overseas in such major territories as Europe and Australia. The U.K. edition of Glamour magazine honored Hatcher as one of its 2005 Women of the Year this past May. The award was presented to her by Sir Elton John in June.

Her present visibility on television - Hatcher first made a splash on TV as Lois Lane in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman - and in the media follows years of success in feature films, including Spy Kids (directed by Robert Rodriguez), Tomorrow Never Dies (opposite Pierce Brosnan as Bond girl Paris Carver), Soapdish (with Kevin Kline), The Big Picture (her first movie; the Christopher Guest-directed picture remains her favorite) and 2 Days in the Valley (with Charlize Theron and James Spader).

Among the many highlights of Hatcher's career was a turn hosting Saturday Night Live that inspired a USA Today scribe to comment, "She gives one of the best and most energetic performances by a good-sport host in a long time." What's more, the sketches she did with SNL cast members Molly Shannon, David Spade and Chris Kattan have become part of the show's "Best Of" series. Other standout performances include her portrayal of Sally Bowles in the national tour of the Tony Award-winning musical Cabaret, and her turn in Eve Ensler's wildly popular The Vagina Monologues.

Hatcher is also well known for her involvement in worthy causes, including the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance and The Starlight Starbright Foundation. She was honored in 1996 with the Aviva Center's Spirit of Compassion Award. She is a generous, longtime supporter of the organization, which provides services to adolescent victims of abuse. She has likewise been a strong advocate of both AIDS Walk Los Angeles and AIDS Walk New York, and an active participant in the battle against breast cancer. Moreover, the gown Hatcher wore to this year's Golden Globes was sold at auction to benefit Clothes off our Backs (the frock had earned Hatcher numerous "best-dressed" accolades here and abroad; E! Entertainment Television has named her the network's Best Dressed Woman), and she recently collaborated with In Style Magazine to donate the Versace couture dress from her Magazine cover feature to the charity.

Hatcher was singled out in late 2004 as "this year's Big New Comedy Talent" (Salt Lake City's Desert Morning News). Since then she has proceeded to win hearts and minds the world over. Hollywood observers believe she will continue to demonstrate her range, on screens both big and small, for many years to come. The Big Picture, directed by Christopher Guest -- to be her favorite. Other movies that followed were Soapdish, with Kevin Kline, Two Days in the Valley, Spy Kids, directed by Roberto Rodriguez, and a turn as a "Bond" girl in Tomorrow Never Dies, opposite Pierce Brosnan. Nor will anyone ever forget the line she made famous in Seinfeld, which was, of course, "They're real -- and they're spectacular."

Hatcher was honored with the 1996 "Spirit of Compassion Award" for her generous support of the Aviva Center, which provides services to sexually and physically abused adolescents. She has been a strong supporter of AIDS Walk Los Angeles and New York, and very active in the battle against breast cancer.

Among her pop culture honors, Hatcher has topped Best Dressed lists around the world and was voted E! Entertainment Television's "Best Dressed Woman of 1996." She's been recognized as one of the sexiest women on television, and had the distinction of being the most downloaded image on the internet the year she posed wrapped in Superman's cape -- and nothing else! She has also been honored by the Hollywood Women's Press Club as "Discovery of the Year," but this year she looks forward to being re-discovered in the role of Susan Mayer. It's a role that's taken her years to be ready for, and one that will offer viewers a surprising and new turn from this well known and talented actress.