Terry Finn

Terry was born in Long Island City, New York, the fifth child of Katherine (née Conley), an elementary school teacher and Peter David Finn, a New York City fireman stationed in Brooklyn. Growing up on the Island, Finn attended St. Pius X Elementary School in Plainview. She made her stage debut at the age of 11 as a member of the Pius Players in the leading role of Flora in The Innocents. She attended high school at Queen of the Rosary Academy in Amityville where she studied to pursue a teaching career.

Finn began undergrad studies at Iona College in New Rochelle as a psychology major. Following an impromptu audition, she was persuaded to switch her major to Communication Arts in the Theatre Department. As a member of the Iona Players, Finn appeared in a series of leading roles, from Blanche Du Bois in A Streetcar Named Desire to Sally Bowles in Cabaret. Following her graduation, she was once again persuaded to return to Iona during post-grad summer session and was cast in the lead as Maria in West Side Story, her third Stephen Sondheim musical, which included roles as Marta in Company and Young Dolly in Follies.
Finn made her Broadway debut at the Morosco Theatre in Hugh Leonard's A Life as understudy to Dana Delany. Following A Life, casting director Joanna Merlin chose Finn to create the role of Gussie Carnegie in Merrily We Roll Along. With music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by George Furth and direction by Hal Prince, this stage production is considered a musical theatre legend in spite of the fact that it closed after 52 previews and 16 performances. Following the brief run at the Alvin Theatre, the cast gathered at RCA Records Studio 'A' on on November 29, 1981 — the day after the show closed — to record the original Broadway cast album. The album's popularity eventually led to a "Merrily We Roll Along Original Broadway Cast Reunion Concert" which was staged at the La Guardia Concert Hall in Lincoln Center on September 30, 2002. Finn was reunited with her original castmates in the one-night-only benefit that raised more than $200,000 for Musical Theatre Works. A documentary film directed by Lonny Price recalling the 30-plus year history of the show, its creators and cast entitled "Our Time" is in production.
Off Broadway, Finn appeared as Pearl Gordon alongside Geraldine Page in Clifford Odets's Paradise Lost at The Mirror Repertory Company under the direction of John Strasberg, as Kate Poplin in Big Maggie at the Douglas Fairbanks Theatre, as Audrey in William Shakespeare's As You Like It with the New York Acting Unit and in regional theatre starred as Constanze Weber-Mozart in Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus in The Wells Theatre at The Virginia Stage Company.
Finn married motion picture production designer David L. Snyder on August 1, 1990 on Central Park West in New York City. They have a son, Finn Henry Snyder, who was born in Beverly Hills, California on October 2, 1997.