What happened to Harriet on Family Matters? Difficult time of her life

Jo Marie Payton, an American actress and singer, was born on August 3, 1950. She is best known for her role as Harriette Baines Winslow on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters (1989-1998), which was originally a Perfect Strangers character.

Payton voiced Suga Mama Proud (Penny Proud’s paternal grandmother) on Disney Channel’s animated series The Proud Family from 2001 to 2005, and she reprised the role in the 2005 television film The Proud Family Movie.

Jo Marie Payton’s Career

Payton got her big break when she was cast as Harriette Winslow, the elevator operator on the ABC sitcom Perfect Strangers, in 1987. Her performance was so well received by viewers that she was given her sitcom, Family Matters, in 1989. She reprised her role as Harriette Winslow from Perfect Strangers, this time as a mother in a middle-class black family in Chicago.

Payton appeared on the “TV Moms” episode of Anne Robinson’s version of The Weakest Link in 2002 and was eliminated as the third contestant.

Payton and her daughter appeared on a Mother’s Day episode of Lingo in 2003, competing with fellow TV mom Meredith Baxter and her daughter.

In addition, she played Mama in the Canadian television miniseries The Rev. Payton made her Meet the Browns debut as Shirley Van Owen in August 2009.

Payton had her show on the Hometeam Network called Second Chance with Jomarie Payton. Payton appeared in the 2012 GMC television movie special From This Day Forward.

What happened to Harriet on Family Matters?

Jo Marie Payton, who played Harriette Winslow on “Family Matters,” decided to leave the show two years before the final season for many reasons, including personal unhappiness and a desire for new artistic opportunities. She went with the choice during a difficult time in her life, which included going through a separation.

Payton expressed that she valued her career as an actress and artist, however, she felt the requirement for a change.

Because of Payton’s takeoff, Judyann Elder played Harriette Winslow in the show’s last nine episodes. Payton’s departure made a huge shift in the series. After 25 years of her takeoff from “Family Matters,” Payton stayed in contact with the cast.

Payton chose to leave the sitcom before it failed. This change was essentially very sudden. Despite the upheaval, Payton and the Family Matters group stayed close for many years, showing the way that even television families can endure change.

Why does Family Matters recast Harriette Winslow for its final episodes?

Viewers fail to remember that Family Matters was a side project from the sitcom Perfect Strangers, where the Harriette character was first presented.

Reginald VelJohnson additionally made cameo appearances as Harriette’s significant other, Carl. Steve Urkel joined the cast and changed Family Matters into Steve Urkel and Friends.

This change didn’t agree with Payton, who felt that the nature of Family Matters had consistently plunged over the long haul.

She concluded that she needed out quite a while before the show finished, however, she had marked an eight-season contract, and Family Matters and ABC were probably not going to let her leave.

Payton could leave Family Matters after filming the first half of Season 9. Her craving to leave had not changed, and she did as such.