Jackée Harry

Birthday: 14 August 1956, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA

Birth Name: Jacqueline Yvonne Harry

Height: 170 cm

Jackée Harry was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and reared from the age of nine in Harlem, New York, by her mother, Flossie. At the tender age of fourteen, Jackée landed the lead role of the King in her school's production of The King and I. Upon graduation from New York City's High School of Music and Art with a distinction in Opera, Jackée attended the University of Long Island, where she earned her B.A. degree in education.Jackée began her career as a history teacher at Brooklyn Technical High School but left after two years to pursue a career in acting. She studied acting at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side and made her professional acting debut in 1973 in Richard Wesley's Goin' Through Changes; not long afterward, she made her Broadway debut in A Broadway Musical as Melinda Bernard.In 1983, Jackée made her television debut opposite Morgan Freeman in the daytime soap opera Another World. A year later, she landed her iconic role of Sandra Clark on the NBC sitcom 227. As the breakout star of the series, Jackée became the first African American to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series and was also nominated for a Golden Globe. Her performance on 227 inspired NBC producers to create a television pilot for her entitled Jackée. After departing 227 in 1989, she starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in the critically acclaimed adaptation of Gloria Naylor's novel The Women of Brewster Place.In 1991, Jackée joined an all-star cast led by Della Reese when she played the role of Ruth 'CoCo' Royal in The Royal Family. From 1994-1999, she starred as the adoptive mother of Tia and Tamara Mowr and y's characters on the ABC/WB sitcom Sister, Sister, winning the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. Jackée also made guest appearances on Amen, Designing Women, Dave's World, Hollywood Squares, 7th Heaven, and That's So Raven, before joining the cast of Everybody Hates Chris in 2006.Hollywood success did not lead Jackée to turn her back on theater; in 1994 she returned to the stage as Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, and in 2003 she played the role of the Madam in The Boys From Syracuse on Broadway. More recently, Jackée performed before sold-out audiences across the nation in the J.D. Lawrence stage play The Cleanup Woman.More recently Jackée has starred in The First Family on Centric and has had a recurring role on BET's Let's Stay Together. Hide

[on landing her first leading theatrical role at age 14]: I took my curtain call and they screamed a Show more [on landing her first leading theatrical role at age 14]: I took my curtain call and they screamed and cheered and I got hooked. Hide

[Of Marla Gibbs]: That Marla Gibbs was the star of it. She's strong. People took it for granted, but Show more [Of Marla Gibbs]: That Marla Gibbs was the star of it. She's strong. People took it for granted, but she implemented a lot of change on there. She did not hold her tongue. She fought for all of us. She and I are great friends. She and I have come full circle. She's the best person. Hide

[on her comeback to television]: I'm trying like heck -- it ain't easy. You've gotta come up with a Show more [on her comeback to television]: I'm trying like heck -- it ain't easy. You've gotta come up with a concept and we haven't found one yet. Hide

[on gaining celebrity status on 227 (1985), for which she won an Emmy Award in 1987]: It was great - Show more [on gaining celebrity status on 227 (1985), for which she won an Emmy Award in 1987]: It was great -- it was the best time of my life, actually, I wouldn't trade it for the world. Hide

[Who talked about being serious when Marla Gibbs asked her to be funny]: Well, I said, 'I don't want Show more [Who talked about being serious when Marla Gibbs asked her to be funny]: Well, I said, 'I don't want to be funny, tomorrow.' Marla said, 'Yes, I want you to be funny because our show will be picked up.' And she said, 'The funnier everybody is, the better, the show will be.' Hide

[on her departure from 227 (1985) and her on- and off-screen rumoured feud with Marla Gibbs, who pla Show more [on her departure from 227 (1985) and her on- and off-screen rumoured feud with Marla Gibbs, who played Mary Jenkins]: When Sandra took off and I took off with her, the truth is it did indeed create a lot of tension. There were problems on Marla's part, which was truly ridiculous because she had all the power. It was her show. Maybe the problem stemmed from the fact that from the beginning Marla wanted someone else for the part, but the network insisted on me. They were all pushing Sandra, and they were pushing me. That changed when I got big, maybe too big, in Marla's eyes. Not that Marla and I ever had any arguments. She was never rude to me, and we always remained cordial. But on the biggest night of my life, when I won my Emmy, not only wasn't there a party given for me, but there was also not a flower or a word of congratulations. Ever. There was nothing, and that hurt. Afterward, my part got less and less each week, and it became clear to me that it was time to leave so I did. Hide

[on her feud with 227 star Marla Gibbs, who played Mary Jenkins]: That was true at the time, she and Show more [on her feud with 227 star Marla Gibbs, who played Mary Jenkins]: That was true at the time, she and I since have become the greatest friends. We've come full circle, and by that I mean, we talked about it honestly and woman-to-woman, and she didn't have to but she did. People were putting things in her head and telling her things that weren't true and she was believing in them. And then she finally came to talk to me, and we got it all straightened out. We are the best of buds - me, her and Alaina Reed and the fabulous Regina King. Hide

[on her 2002 return to Broadway]: Well, I looked fabulous, it was hard work singing and dancing, lif Show more [on her 2002 return to Broadway]: Well, I looked fabulous, it was hard work singing and dancing, lifting that leg up, that fan kick. It reminded me of the days when I really used to work for a living. Hide

Jackée Harry's FILMOGRAPHY

as Actor (230)

Rob Riggle's Ski Master Academy - Season 1

Alf Loves a Mystery

Love in Store 2020

Baby Daddy - Season 2

Braxton Family Values - Season 7

A Snowy Day in Oakland

Designing Women - Season 4

Glee - Season 4

227 - Season 1

Transformers Robots in Disguise - Season 1