Terry was born in London into a
theatrical family. His parents, Benjamin (1817–1896) of Irish descent, and Sarah (née Ballard) (1819–1892), of Scottish ancestry, were comic actors in a touring company based in
Portsmouth, where Sarah's father was a Wesleyan minister, and had eleven children of which Fred was the youngest son. At least five of these became actors:
Kate,
Ellen,
Marion, Florence and Fred. Two other children, George and Charles, were connected with theatre management. Terry's sister Kate was a very successful actress until her marriage and retirement from the stage in 1867, and his sister Ellen became the greatest Shakespearean actress of her time. His great-nephew (Kate's grandson),
John Gielgud, became one of the twentieth century's most respected actors. Terry was educated in London, France and Switzerland. During his career, Terry toured extensively, playing in all the principal cities of the United Kingdom and North America. His first stage appearance was at the
Haymarket Theatre in 1880 at the age of 16, in a revival of
Bulwer-Lytton's
Money, with the
Bancrofts. After appearances on tour, he was engaged at the
Lyceum Theatre in 1884 in
Henry Irving's production of
Twelfth Night, as Sebastian to the Viola of his sister Ellen. In her memoirs, his sister Ellen wrote, "I don't think that I have ever seen any success so unmistakable and instantaneous." He had a success at the
Avenue Theatre, as Dr William Brown in
Dr Bill, by Hamilton Aidé, in 1890. He joined the company of
Herbert Beerbohm Tree at the Haymarket Theatre, appearing in numerous productions with the company from 1890 to 1894. His roles there included D'Aulnay in
W. S. Gilbert's
Comedy and Tragedy (1890) and John Christison in
Henry Arthur Jones's
The Dancing Girl (1891). In the cast of this last, he met
Julia Neilson, daughter of Alexander Ritchie Neilson, whom he married later that year. For Tree, he also played Laertes in
Hamlet and appeared in
Sydney Grundy's translation of the French play
A Village Priest,
Beau Austin and
Peril. Terry and Neilson's daughter
Phyllis was born in 1892. In 1894, Terry and Neilson appeared together in
Shall We Forgive Her? by Frank Harvey at the
Adelphi Theatre. Their second child, Dennis, was born in October 1895. Two months later, the family travelled to America to perform with
John Hare's company. There they played together in New York in
The Notorious Mrs. Ebbsmith by
Arthur Wing Pinero. In 1896, they returned to England, where he played at the Lyceum as Charles Surface in a revival of
Sheridan's
The School for Scandal with
Johnston Forbes-Robertson. Terry and his wife appeared together in
The Tree of Knowledge and other plays from October 1897 until the summer of 1898, including
Much Ado About Nothing at the
St James's Theatre, in which he played Don Pedro. Next, they appeared in
The Gipsy Earl. He was Squire Thornhill in
William Gorman Wills's
Olivia at the Lyceum in 1900. They then toured in
As You Like It. ==Later years==