Why Did Judy Winslow Disappear From ‘Family Matters’?
From 1989 to 1998, Family Matters was a primetime staple for the entire family. An anchor of ABC’s popular TGIF Friday-night lineup (with a final season on CBS), the sitcom was conceived as a family-oriented spinoff of Perfect Strangers, focusing on Balki and Larry’s coworker Harriet Winslow (Jo Marie Payton). Family Matters followed Winslow’s off-the-clock life as matriarch of an extended household that included her husband Carl (Reginald VelJohnson) and their three kids Eddie, Laura and Judy (Darius McCrary, Kellie Shanygne Williams, Jaimee Foxworth), plus Harriet’s mother-in-law Estelle (Rosetta LeNoire), sister Rachel (Telma Hopkins) and nephew Richie (Julius and Joseph Wright, then Bryton James).
The aforementioned cast of characters should have been more than enough to carry the show for many seasons. But everything changed after the show’s twelfth episode, which saw the very first appearance of a soon-to-be iconic character called Steve Urkel, played by Jaleel White.
And while Urkel was good news for the TV-loving kids of America, he was bad news for Judy Winslow.
Judy got Urked
Everett Collection
Debuting as a blind date for Laura, the Winslow’s nerdy neighbor quickly boosted the show’s ratings with his hilarious antics, going from one-off to guest star in multiple first-season episodes. By Season 2, White was added to the main cast and Urkel quickly became the focal point of the show.
Unfortunately, shifting the show’s focus toward Urkel led to less time to spend on the rest of the Winslows. While his constant pursuit of Laura’s heart kept her in the spotlight, and older brother Eddie’s teenage antics continued to drive storylines, the rest of the family wasn’t so lucky. Something — or someone — had to go, and unfortunately, that someone was Judy, the youngest of the Winslow clan.
Who the heck was Judy Winslow?
Nine years old when Family Matters debuted (and only 12 when she disappeared from the show in Season 4), Judy Winslow never had the opportunity to make much of an impact on Family Matters.
Played by Jaimee Foxworth (following the pilot, in which she was played by Valerie Jones), Judy was a typical little sister — cute, curious, and obsessed with her big sister. Unfortunately, the character was never given much depth, a likely cause of her eventual disappearance.
In a 2024 interview on radio show The Breakfast Club, Jaleel White said that producers on the show “didn’t feel like they needed the character. At that point, they were like, she’s not adding to the storylines, so they let it go.” Rather than writing the character off in any real way, the rest of the Winslows simply acted like Judy had never existed.
Why was the Judy Winslow character cut from Family Matters?
Not old enough to date, drive or have much of a life of her own, Judy often fell by the wayside when it came to storylines. When Steve Urkel’s misadventures began to take up significant time on each episode, Harriet and Carl’s youngest became expendable.
Judy’s ejection from the Family Matters cast was not a smooth one, causing friction with series star Jo Marie Payton, who had formed a close bond with Foxworth during her run on the show. While series co-creator and executive producer William Bickley maintained that Foxworth was cut due to a budget issue, it was clear that the Winslow family was now competing with Steve Urkel for respect on their own show.
Whatever happened to Jaimee Foxworth?
After her time on Family Matters came to an abrupt end, Jaimee struggled to transition into the next stage of her career. With little acting work coming in, Foxworth formed an R&B musical group, S.H.E., with her two sisters, Tyren Perry and Jania Perry. The trio released its debut album, 3’s a Charm, on July 1, 1997, on Shaquille O’Neal‘s record label, but it flopped immediately, sending Foxworth back to the drawing board.
Facing financial difficulties and feeling abandoned by the industry, Foxworth made headlines by entering the adult film industry in her early twenties under the name “Crave.” She later reasoned that this decision was made during a time of depression, low self-esteem and substance abuse — compounded by the pressure of growing up in the public eye without guidance or support.
For Foxworth, Mom’s the word
Over time, Foxworth faced her addictions to alcohol and marijuana. She entered rehab, participated in talk therapy, and eventually began to speak publicly about her experiences. She appeared on programs like The Oprah Winfrey Show and TV One’s Life After, where she shared her story in hopes of helping others — especially child actors — avoid similar pitfalls.
Thankfully, becoming a mother marked a major turning point in Foxworth’s life. In 2009, Foxworth and her partner, Michael Shaw, welcomed their son, Michael Douglas Shaw Jr., which inspired Foxworth to focus on healing and personal growth. Since then, Foxworth, now 45, has maintained a lower public profile, concentrating on being a mom and living a healthier, more grounded life that has enabled her to enjoy her own “family matters.”
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