All About Teri Hatcher's Daughter Emerson Tenney

Teri Hatcher may be best known for her starring role as Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives, but her number one priority is — and always has been — her daughter, Emerson Rose Tenney.

“I’ve always made mothering the priority of my life,” the actress said during a 2006 appearance on The View. “Over my career, over everything.”

Hatcher shares Emerson with her ex-husband of nine years, The Closer actor Jon Tenney. The pair married in 1994 and divorced in 2003. In March 2006, Hatcher opened up about co-parenting with her ex.

"I never wanted Emerson to have parents in different households, and I’ll always feel guilty forever that she has to go back and forth,” she told the Irish Examiner. "But her dad and I work really hard to make it as easy as possible for her, and I genuinely think she's OK."

Hatcher explained that she has had to make some sacrifices as a single mom, but she’s happy with the decisions that she made.

“My daughter’s old enough now that it’s easier, more guilt-free [to have a social life], but there have been some lonely nights. I wouldn’t change that," Hatcher said.

Here’s everything to know about Teri Hatcher’s daughter, Emerson Tenney.

She was born on Nov. 10, 1997

Emerson was born on Nov. 10, 1997. She’s a Scorpio and is seemingly passionate about her star sign. To mark her 26th birthday, she shared a photo of her Scorpio birthday cake, along with a series of astrology-themed memes. The eye-catching cake was shaped like a heart, had blue and white frosting and the word Scorpio was written alongside a blue scorpion.

“It’s my birthday & I’ll unapologetically indulge in Scorpio tendencies if I want to!! ❤️‍🔥🗡️🪩😈🕯️👑🥳,” she wrote in the caption.

In November 2023, Emerson and Hatcher headed to Las Vegas and hit the club to celebrate Emerson’s 26th birthday.

“So my daughter just turned 26 and she wanted to go to Las Vegas,” she explained during an interview on The Talk. “We stayed at the Wynn Hotel."

She attended Brown University

Emerson attended Brown University from September 2016 to May 2020. She graduated with a bachelor of arts in creative writing.

Proud mom Hatcher celebrated her daughter’s graduation with a sweet Instagram tribute.

“After the virtual & moving ceremony this morning, I dry my tears, blow my nose and toast to all your hard work and the great things I see in your future,” she wrote in the caption. “Congratulations on reaching this amazing milestone! I love you so much!!!#proudmama #BrownU #brown2020 #EverTrue.”

She is a writer and director

Emerson is currently represented by Magnet Management and recently worked on rewriting an animated film for the Japanese company Toei. She also has other scripts in development.

In addition to her writing career, Emerson is currently directing her first animated short film.

She's passionate about volunteer work

During high school, Emerson volunteered at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and helped to raise funds for the hospital’s Child Life playrooms. In a 2015 interview with LinkedIn, she explained that her charity work brought her a lot of joy and that she felt proud of what she did.

“The thing that has made me the most proud is when I see my charitable contributions affect someone positively,” she said. “When I am working at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, some of my favorite moments are making pipe cleaner butterflies and paper-cut snowflakes with the patients.”

Furthering her charity work and writing career, she previously ran a blog, Reachandsafe.com, to inspire others to also do good.

“That’s really what I see ReachandSafe being all about: a place that is inspiring young people to do good in their communities by setting an example that shows you don’t have to be an adult to have a global impact,” she said.

She has cooked for the Desperate Housewives cast

Hatcher appeared in every episode of Desperate Housewives, which ran for eight seasons from 2004 to 2012. Emerson would often visit Hatcher on set and would sometimes cook for her mom and her castmates.

"My daughter loves to cook. She brought an enchilada dish she made to the set,” Hatcher told PEOPLE at the time. “She’s very into it.”

She and her mom ran the New York City Marathon together

On Nov. 4, 2018, Emerson and Hatcher ran the New York City marathon together on behalf of the Save the Children charity. It was Hatcher’s second marathon, and she anticipated that it would feel different running it alongside her daughter rather than going solo.

“We have a really close great relationship, but I think that she would say, and I agree with this, that this is different than just going on a trip or spending time together,” Hatcher told PEOPLE in August 2018.

“Something about the ups and downs of training for such a physical feat as a marathon — that sort of vulnerability, the adversity that you have to get through and pushing through walls together — and having that experience as a team; it’s just a bonding thing that you can’t really replace or have from any other experience. And I think we both wanted that together," she added.

She attended Berlin Fashion Week with her mom

The mother-daughter duo often attend events together, and in January 2024, Emerson and Hatcher stepped out at Berlin Fashion Week and had a stylish twinning moment.

Sitting front row at the Marc Cain show wearing coordinating purple outfits, Hatcher wore a tea-length purple dress with sheer long sleeves and feather cuffs, while Tenney wore a bold purple skirt suit.