Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor is a character in the TV sitcom ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation, or remodeling is the process of renovating or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electrical and plumbing), ...

'' played by

Patricia Richardson Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement'', for which she was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding L ...

. Jill is Tim Taylor's wife. Jill and Tim raise their three sons (Brad, Randy, and Mark) together. Jill Taylor has appeared on critics' lists of "top TV" or "most memorable" moms. For this role, Richardson was nominated four times for Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress – Comedy Series and also received two nominations for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivere ...

Development

The writers planned from the start that Tim Taylor's wife would have a strong voice.

had initially been reluctant to accept the role, concerned that Jill would be yet another "perfect" TV sitcom mother such as

Clair Huxtable Clair Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Phylicia Rashad, Clair, the wife of Cliff Huxtable and mother of their five children, is the matriarch of the show' ...

of ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...

''. She was reassured after seeing some scripts and talking to the series' producers. Early in the show's run, Richardson said, "What I want for this character is for her to be imperfect. I want her to make mistakes. I want her to be the wrong one in the relationship. I want her to blow it with Tim, and be the one who has to be punished. Because that's what life is like."

Character biography

Background

Due to her father being in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

, Jill and her four sisters grew up in a rigid environment. Jill and her siblings appear together in "Jill and Her Sisters" and "Taps".

Personality

It is established early in the series that Jill serves as the voice of reason for her husband and children. Jill is known for her

common sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political arg ...

, but is also in-tune with her

emotions Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. ...

; she has been described as "the epitome of understanding".

College and career

Throughout the course of the series, Jill goes from being a stay at home mother to a career-focused working woman. Early in the series, Jill frequently has problems finding employment; in the pilot episode of the series, she discusses with Tim about how she was passed over for a job interview. However, Jill ultimately goes back to school, majoring in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

Politics

Jill's

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

is emphasized throughout the series, especially in its latter seasons. She and Tim would sometimes argue about a man and woman's "place" in the

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

. Despite Tim's frequent reluctance to understand Jill's point of view, he usually tries to

compromise To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise is a concept of finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving va ...

with her. It is also revealed in "Taps" that Jill is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In other episodes, Jill mentions attending

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

rallies as a young woman without her father's knowledge. However, being the daughter of an Army father has influenced her personality somewhat. For example, in "Tanks for the Memories", she exhibits great skill in driving a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

, despite the fact that she never drove a tank before.

Cultural impact

The relationship between Jill and Tim Taylor has been discussed in academic papers about feminism. In May 2012, Jill was one of the 12 moms chosen by users of

iVillage iVillage, Inc. was a mass media company that operated the ”most popular female-oriented sites” on the internet in the 1990s. In addition to ivillage.com, the company operated iVillage UK, Astrology.com, GardenWeb, and the NBC Digital Health ...

on their list of "Mommy Dearest: The TV Moms You Love".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jill Fictional characters from Michigan Fictional characters from Detroit Home Improvement characters