Jackée Harry
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Yvonne "Jackée" Harry (born August 14, 1956), better known by her professional name Jackée, is an American actress and television personality, primarily known for her roles on sitcoms and other types of television
shows. She is best known for her roles as Sandra Clark, the sexy neighbor and nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs
), on the TV series 227
(a role she played from 1985 to 1989), and as Tia's mother, Lisa Landry, in the long-running comedy, Sister, Sister
.
, and raised in Harlem, New York, To a Trinidadian mother and African American Father. Harry began studying acting at the Henry Street Settlement
on the Lower East Side in New York City and began a career on the New York stage. She appeared in A Broadway Musical
, playing a chorine. In 1983, she made her television debut by on Another World
as Lily Mason, a role she continued until 1986. In 2003, she was a surprise guest on the Another World Reunion that SOAPnet
coordinated and aired.
In 1985, Harry began a co-starring role opposite Marla Gibbs
as the apartment building vamp, "Sandra Clark", on the NBC
sitcom 227
, the role with which she is most associated. Her mother, Flossie, celebrated her getting the part but died before the show aired.
Harry became the first African American to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
. Her performance on 227 inspired NBC
producers to create a television pilot for her entitled Jackée
. The pilot episode failed with audiences and is now shown as an episode of 227.
After leaving 227 in 1989, Harry starred opposite Oprah Winfrey
in the adaptation of Gloria Naylor
's novel, The Women of Brewster Place
. In 1991, Harry joined the cast of The Royal Family
, whose run ended after one season when star Redd Foxx
died unexpectedly that autumn.
From 1994-99, Harry played Tia Mowry
's character's adoptive mother on the sitcom, Sister, Sister
. She won NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. First on ABC
, the series moved to the WB
network until it ended. She had a recurring role as Vanessa on The CW
series Everybody Hates Chris
. She currently has a recurring role on the BET Series Let's Stay Together
.
in the play Lady Day at Emersons Bar and Grill. Following that stage production, she fulfilled the role of "madam who runs a bordello" in the Broadway musical The Boys From Syracuse
, a play based on William Shakespeare
's The Comedy of Errors
.
In 1992, she starred as the assistant coach in Ladybugs
. Harry served as a guest panelist on the 2000 revival of To Tell the Truth
. Harry appeared on the second season of VH1
's Celebrity Fit Club 2 in 2005.
In the mid-2000s, she appeared in stage productions of The Sunshine Boys
, Damn Yankees
, and A Christmas Carol
. She most recently toured nationally in JD Lawrence's The Clean Up Woman
.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
shows. She is best known for her roles as Sandra Clark, the sexy neighbor and nemesis of Mary Jenkins (played by Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs is an American television and film actress and singer. She is best remembered for playing Louise and George Jefferson's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and spinoff Checking In...
), on the TV series 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
(a role she played from 1985 to 1989), and as Tia's mother, Lisa Landry, in the long-running comedy, Sister, Sister
Sister, Sister (TV series)
Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
.
Television
Born in Winston-Salem, North CarolinaWinston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to...
, and raised in Harlem, New York, To a Trinidadian mother and African American Father. Harry began studying acting at the Henry Street Settlement
Henry Street Settlement
The Henry Street Settlement is a not-for-profit social service agency in the Lower East Side neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City that provides social services, arts programs and health care services to New Yorkers of all ages. It was founded in 1893 by Progressive reformer Lillian Wald.The...
on the Lower East Side in New York City and began a career on the New York stage. She appeared in A Broadway Musical
A Broadway Musical
A Broadway Musical is a musical with a book by William F. Brown, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse. The Broadway production closed after 14 previews and only one performance on December 21, 1978....
, playing a chorine. In 1983, she made her television debut by on Another World
Another World (TV series)
Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
as Lily Mason, a role she continued until 1986. In 2003, she was a surprise guest on the Another World Reunion that SOAPnet
SOAPnet
SOAPnet is an American cable television channel that broadcasts current and past soap operas and primetime dramas, along with some original programming. The channel launched on January 20, 2000, and is owned by Disney-ABC Television Group, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
coordinated and aired.
In 1985, Harry began a co-starring role opposite Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs is an American television and film actress and singer. She is best remembered for playing Louise and George Jefferson's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and spinoff Checking In...
as the apartment building vamp, "Sandra Clark", on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom 227
227 (TV series)
227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
, the role with which she is most associated. Her mother, Flossie, celebrated her getting the part but died before the show aired.
Harry became the first African American to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1953: Vivian Vance - I Love Lucy as Ethel Mertz** Audrey Meadows - The Jackie Gleason Show as Alice Kramden...
. Her performance on 227 inspired NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
producers to create a television pilot for her entitled Jackée
Jackée (227 episode)
"Jackée" is the 23rd episode from the fourth season of the sitcom 227. Originally broadcast on Thursday, May 11, 1989 on NBC, the episode was a proposed spin-off for the Sandra Clark character portrayed by Jackée Harry...
. The pilot episode failed with audiences and is now shown as an episode of 227.
After leaving 227 in 1989, Harry starred opposite Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
in the adaptation of Gloria Naylor
Gloria Naylor
Gloria Naylor is an African American novelist and educator.-Early life:Born in New York, she was the first child to Roosevelt Naylor and Alberta McAlpin. As Naylor grew up, her father was a transit worker and her mother was a telephone operator. When Naylor was young, her mother encouraged her to...
's novel, The Women of Brewster Place
The Women of Brewster Place (novel)
The Women of Brewster Place, is the first novel by American author Gloria Naylor. It was adapted into the 1989 miniseries The Women of Brewster Place and the 1990 ongoing series Brewster Place by Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions; it won the National Book Award in 1983...
. In 1991, Harry joined the cast of The Royal Family
The Royal Family (TV series)
The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and produced by Eddie Murphy , who had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. It ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992...
, whose run ended after one season when star Redd Foxx
Redd Foxx
John Elroy Sanford , better known by his stage name Redd Foxx, was an American comedian and actor, best known for his starring role on the sitcom Sanford and Son.-Early life:...
died unexpectedly that autumn.
From 1994-99, Harry played Tia Mowry
Tia Mowry
Tia Dashon Mowry-Hardrict is an American actress. She first gained fame for her teen role as Tia Landry on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister...
's character's adoptive mother on the sitcom, Sister, Sister
Sister, Sister (TV series)
Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
. She won NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. First on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, the series moved to the WB
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
network until it ended. She had a recurring role as Vanessa on The CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
series Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
. She currently has a recurring role on the BET Series Let's Stay Together
Let's Stay Together (TV series)
Let's Stay Together is an American romantic comedy television series created by Jacque Edmonds Cofer. It premiered on BET on January 11, 2011. The series premiere drew 4.4 million viewers. On April 20th, BET, announced that the show is renewed for a second season which is set to air 22 episodes...
.
Theatre
In 1994, Harry made her return to the theater by starring as Billie HolidayBillie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
in the play Lady Day at Emersons Bar and Grill. Following that stage production, she fulfilled the role of "madam who runs a bordello" in the Broadway musical The Boys From Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse
The Boys from Syracuse is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, based on William Shakespeare's play, The Comedy of Errors, as adapted by librettist George Abbott. The score includes swing and other contemporary rhythms of the 1930s. The show was the first musical...
, a play based on William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors
The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
.
In 1992, she starred as the assistant coach in Ladybugs
Ladybugs (film)
Ladybugs is a comedy and sports movie released in 1992 starring Rodney Dangerfield as Chester, a business man who takes over a girls soccer team which the company he works for sponsors to get them to win and get a promotion...
. Harry served as a guest panelist on the 2000 revival of To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
. Harry appeared on the second season of VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Celebrity Fit Club 2 in 2005.
In the mid-2000s, she appeared in stage productions of The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
, Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees
Damn Yankees is a musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop and music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., during a time when the New York Yankees dominated Major League...
, and A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. She most recently toured nationally in JD Lawrence's The Clean Up Woman
The Clean Up Woman
The Clean Up Woman is a play by JD Lawrence.The play features Terri Adams, a journalist who pushes aside her newlywed domestic apron for a six figure Anchor Job with WNY5. But when Terri starts neglecting home for her new position, her supportive husband comes to his wits end and demands she clean...
.
Actress
- 2011: Nurse Jackée (short) Nurse Jackée
- 2011: Let's Stay TogetherLet's Stay Together (TV series)Let's Stay Together is an American romantic comedy television series created by Jacque Edmonds Cofer. It premiered on BET on January 11, 2011. The series premiere drew 4.4 million viewers. On April 20th, BET, announced that the show is renewed for a second season which is set to air 22 episodes...
(TV series) Delores - 2011: The Ideal Husband (TV movie) Vivian Peterson
- 2010: Christmas CupidChristmas CupidChristmas Cupid is a television film starring Chad Michael Murray, Christina Milian and Ashley Benson and directed by Gil Junger. It premiered on ABC Family on December 12, 2010 as part of their 25 Days of Christmas programming block...
(TV movie) Vivian - 2010: Friends & Lovers (TV series) Omar's Mother
- 2010: The Clean Up WomanThe Clean Up WomanThe Clean Up Woman is a play by JD Lawrence.The play features Terri Adams, a journalist who pushes aside her newlywed domestic apron for a six figure Anchor Job with WNY5. But when Terri starts neglecting home for her new position, her supportive husband comes to his wits end and demands she clean...
Jasmine - 2010: Knight to D7 (short) Nurse Hamilton
- 2006: Everybody Hates ChrisEverybody Hates ChrisEverybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
(TV series) Vanessa See all 25 episodes (2006-2009) - 2009: G.E.D. Mama
- 2009: Man of Her Dreams Louise Smith
- 2008: The Mighty B!The Mighty B!The Mighty B! is an American animated television series co-created by Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese for Nickelodeon. The series centers on Bessie Higgenbottom, an ambitious Honeybee girlscout that believes she will become a superhero called the Mighty B if she collects every Honeybee badge...
(TV series) … Nurse (voice) - 2007: The Last Day of SummerThe Last Day of SummerThe Last Day of Summer is a 1958 romantic drama film directed by the Polish film director Tadeusz Konwicki.-Plot:The action takes place amid the deserted dunes and screaming gulls of a chilly Baltic shore. Two lonely, damaged people, played by Irena Laskowska and Jan Machulski, whose characters...
(TV movie) Lola The Lobster (as Jackee Harry) - 2006: All You've GotAll You've GotAll You've Got is a 2006 sport/drama film, which debuted on MTV and is directed by Neema Barnette. It stars Adrienne Bailon, of the pop group The Cheetah Girls as Gabby and Ciara in her film debut as Becca Watley.-Storyline:...
Butt Short Salesman - 2005: One on OneOne on One (TV series)One on One is an American sitcom that aired on the now-defunct UPN from its September 3, 2001 premiere until May 15, 2006. The series stars Flex Alexander as a single sportscaster, who becomes a full-time dad when his ex-wife decides to accept a job out of the country and his teenage daughter...
(TV series) Sherri St. Croix - 2005: That's So RavenThat's So RavenThat's So Raven is an American cable television teen sitcom/fantasy series. The show premiered on the Disney Channel on January 17, 2003, and ended on November 10, 2007. The show spawned Disney Channel's first spin-off series: Cory in the House...
(TV series) Dava - 2004: You Got ServedYou Got ServedYou Got Served is a film written and directed by Chris Stokes, manager of its stars, recording artist Omarion, Marques Houston and the members of boy band B2K. The plot concerns a group of dancers, who take part in a street dancing competition...
Mama - 2003: The Nick at Nite Holiday Special (TV movie) Jackée, The Baker
- 2003: 7th Heaven7th Heaven7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on the WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007...
(TV series) Ms. Beane - 2000: Twice in a LifetimeTwice in a Lifetime (TV series)Twice in a Lifetime is a Canadian mystery/drama series that originally aired from 1999 to 2001. Created by Steve Sohmer, the series aired on CTV in Canada and PAX in the United States.-Synopsis:...
(TV series) Darcy Green / Louise Lutrelle - 1994: Sister, SisterSister, Sister (TV series)Sister, Sister is an American television sitcom about identical twin girls Tia Landry and Tamera Campbell , who were separated and adopted at birth, when one day they come face-to-face after 14 years apart....
(TV series) Lisa Landry See all 119 episodes (1994-1999) - 1996: Unhappily Ever AfterUnhappily Ever AfterUnhappily Ever After is an American sitcom that aired for 100 episodes on The WB network from January 11, 1995, to May 23, 1999, for a total of four and a half seasons...
(TV series) Ms. Blake, guidance counselor - 1995: Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildHappily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every ChildHappily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American animated television series that premiered March 26, 1995, on HBO. Narrated by Robert Guillaume, the series aired 39 episodes from 1995 to 2000, and is currently airing on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United...
(TV series) … Giant's Wife (voice) - 1994: Dave's WorldDave's WorldDave's World is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1993 to 1997. The series was based on the writing of Miami Herald columnist Dave Barry.-Plot:...
(TV series) Estelle - 1993: Living and Working in Space: The Countdown Has Begun (video) Charmayne (as Jackee)
- 1991: The Royal FamilyThe Royal Family (TV series)The Royal Family is an American sitcom starring Redd Foxx and Della Reese. The series was created and produced by Eddie Murphy , who had previously worked with Redd Foxx and Della Reese in the 1989 film Harlem Nights. It ran for one season on CBS from 1991-1992...
(TV series) Ruth 'CoCo' Royal See all 8 episodes (1991-1992) - 1992: Designing WomenDesigning WomenDesigning Women is an American television sitcom that centered on the working and personal lives of four Southern women and one man in an interior design firm in Atlanta, Georgia. It aired on the CBS television network from September 29, 1986 until May 24, 1993. The show was created by head writer...
(TV series) Vanessa Chamberlain - 1992: LadybugsLadybugs (film)Ladybugs is a comedy and sports movie released in 1992 starring Rodney Dangerfield as Chester, a business man who takes over a girls soccer team which the company he works for sponsors to get them to win and get a promotion...
Julie Benson (as Jackée) - 1990: We'll Take ManhattanWe'll Take ManhattanWe'll Take Manhattan was a television comedy show that debuted on April 30, 1967. It only lasted one episode. It followed a young lawyer, Lucas Graystone, as he attempted to help a 140-year old native American and his tribe, reclaim Manhattan.- Cast :...
(TV movie) Yvonne - 1990: ABC TGIF (TV series) Lisa
- 1985: 227227 (TV series)227 is an American situation comedy that originally aired on NBC from September 14, 1985, until May 6, 1990. The series starred Marla Gibbs as a sharp-tongued, inner-city resident gossip and housewife, Mary Jenkins...
(TV series) Sandra Clark See all 99 episodes (1985-1989) - 1988: AmenAmen (TV series)Amen is an American television sitcom produced by Carson Productions that ran from September 27, 1986 to May 11, 1991 on NBC. Set in Sherman Hemsley's real-life hometown of Philadelphia, Amen starred Hemsley as the deacon of a church and was part of a wave of successful sitcoms on NBC in the 1980s...
(TV series) Roxanne Farley / Florence Hawkins (1988-1989) - 1989: "The Reluctant Agent" (Movie) Diner Waitress / FBI Agent
- 1989: Double Your Pleasure (TV movie) LindaCavanaugh/Sharlene Cavanaugh
- 1989: Jackée (TV movie) Sandra Clark (as Jackée)
- 1989: The Women of Brewster Place (TV movie) Etta Mae
- 1988: Crash CourseCrash CourseCrash Course is a 1988 made for television teen film directed by Oz Scott.-Plot:Crash Course centers on a group of high schoolers in a driver’s education class; many for the second or third time...
(TV movie) Edna Savage (as Jackée) - 1988: The Cheech Show (TV movie) Sheila
- 1987: Alf Loves a Mystery (TV movie) Countess (as Jackee Harry)
- 1987: The Incredible Ida Early (TV movie) Ida Early
- 1984: The Cotton ClubThe Cotton Club (film)The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime-drama, centered on a famed Harlem jazz club of the 1930s, the Cotton Club.The movie was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, choreographed by Henry LeTang, and starred Richard Gere, Diane Lane, and Gregory Hines...
Dancer - 1984: Moscow on the HudsonMoscow on the HudsonMoscow on the Hudson is a 1984 comedy-drama film starring Robin Williams, and directed by Paul Mazursky. Williams plays a Soviet circus musician who defects from the Soviet Union while on a visit to the United States...
Woman (uncredited) - 1983: Another WorldAnother World (TV series)Another World is an American television soap opera that ran on NBC from May 4, 1964 to June 25, 1999. It ran for a total of 35 years. It was created by Irna Phillips along with William J...
(TV series) Lily Mason (1983-1986)