Terri has had an amazing acting career throughout the years. In her early start, she appeared in many popular films such as Friday, along side actors such as Ice Cube, and Chris Rock. She also had a role in the movie Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood. in 1995 she had a starring role in the movie Black Scorpion and its sequel, Black Scorpion 2: Aftershock, which came out a few years later in 1997. 

She also had a reoccuring role as the high school secretary Lovita Alize Jenkins Robinson in the second season of the hit show The Steve Harvey Show, which aired on The WB network. This role earned her three NAACP Image Awards for her acting on the show. She won the awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

In 2002, Terri joined the cast of the show Soul Food which aired on the Showtime network. This role won her another NAACP Image award nomination for her acting. 

In 2003, Terri was a regular cast member of the show All of Us which aired on The CW network. She also was in the Tyler Perry movie Daddy's Little Girls, along side Gabrielle Union. After this, she began her role on another Tyler Perry production, Meet the Browns, which aired from 2009 to 2011. She also began producing and appearing in a number of lower profile movies throughout the years. Terri owns a production company called Nina Holiday Entertainment. This company is responsible for producing movies such as Sugar Mommas, A Cross to Bear, and Girlfriends' Getaway. 

In 2016, Terri has a reoccurring role on the hit drama TV series, Greenleaf, along side actors Lynn Whitfield and Keith David. The show currently airs on the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. 

She got married to her first husband, Derrick Carolina in 1999 and got divorced in 2005. She has a child from this marriage. She is now married to Karon Riley since 2008 and has a child with him.

She said that she is very happy for jumping into love for the second time. She said that due to her first relationship with Derrick, she gained maturity and experience. She also became more aware of her own faults. She said that the sex with Karon is far better than the sex with Derrick. In 2014, she announced that she was expecting her third child, second child with Karon.