As she is the only girl in the family, her father used to take her to watch Chinese opera. He recalled that Teresa could hum tunes from the opera when she was only seven years old.
父親鄧樞記得當年每次出門票戲一定帶著她同行，她父親曾說：「這孩子才七、八歲時，哼起京戲來便有板有眼，滿像一回事了。」