Teri Joseph

Teri Joseph Carter is a fictional character from Soul Food. The character first appeared in the 1997 film Soul Food, and was portrayed by Vanessa Williams.^[1] In the television series, the role was assumed by Nicole Ari Parker.

Character Background

A lifelong resident of Chicago, Teri is the oldest of three daughters born to Jeremiah and Josephine Joseph. As a teenager, she briefly dated high school football player Kenny Chadway (Jeffrey D. Sams, Rockmond Dunbar). Soon, Kenny cheated on Teri with her sister Maxine (Vivica A. Fox, Vanessa A. Williams), leading to years of friction between the two women. However, Kenny and Maxine were eventually married and became the parents of five children.

Teri graduated from Northwestern University School of Law and became a labor attorney with the prestigious Chicago law firm, Greene Norris and Associates. She married rising NFL star Russell Banks (Michael Jai White), but the union ended in divorce, with the well-to-do Teri paying alimony to Russell (which he voluntarily repaid years later). She later married fellow attorney Miles Jenkins (Michael Beach, Isaiah Washington). A highly-driven career woman, Teri could not understand when Miles left his job to pursue a career as a professional musician as the leader of the R&B group Milestone.^[2] Miles had a sexual encounter with Teri's estranged cousin Faith Hunter (Gina Ravera, Lisa Branch), an aspiring dancer who shared his love of the arts. Even though it only occurred once, Teri caught the couple in the act, leading to her second divorce.

Soon thereafter, Teri began a relationship with Damon Carter (Boris Kodjoe), a college-educated delivery man who was five years younger than her. Although the couple was clearly in love with each other, the relationship was often a rocky one. The pair endured two major break-ups, including a cancelled engagement.

Teri was the most successful associate at Greene Norris, winning the most cases and bringing in the most business. However, it became apparent that the firm had no intention of ever making her a partner. Thus she resigned, and soon joined Moore & Freeman, a firm staffed primarily by African American attorneys. While there she butted heads with a number of the other lawyers, whose personalities and viewpoints about the role of contemporary Black attorneys frequently clashed with hers. Not only did Teri resign from Moore & Freeman as well, but she began to experience panic attacks. She would have the last laugh, however. Greene Norris was acquired by Burke Willis Bingham & Lockhart, a huge national law firm. Senior partner Katherine Burke (Faye Dunaway) made Teri the managing partner of Burke Willis' Chicago office—i.e. the former Greene Norris—making Teri the superior of the same lawyers who had refused to make her partner a year earlier.

After cancelling her engagement to Damon, Teri became involved with other men. Following a series of one-night stands, she dated her best friend, attorney Brian Tedrow (Yannick Bisson), but the relationship and the friendship soon ended. She dated her tango class partner, college professor Charles Miller (Vondie Curtis-Hall), but was very uncomfortable with the strangely close relationship that he had with his ex-wife.

Ultimately, Teri and Damon were married, and adopted their foster child Mandel (Tyson Fennell). Teri resigned from her position as managing partner at Burke Willis, and the family moved to Los Angeles, where she began working as a senior attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.

References