Jo Marie Payton (born August 3, 1950) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Harriette Baines Winslow on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

/ CBS sitcom '' Family Matters'' (1989–1998), a role she originated on its forerunner series '' Perfect Strangers''. From 2001 to 2005, Payton provided the voice for Suga Mama Proud (Penny Proud's grandmother) on

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

's animated series '' The Proud Family'' and reprised the role in the 2005 TV Movie '' The Proud Family Movie'' and also on

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’s revival '' The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder''. The role earned her an

NAACP Image Award The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...

nomination in 2005. Payton also had recurring roles as the personal assistant to

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

' character, Ben Doucette (

Will Truman William Truman is a fictional character and one of the two titular protagonists on the American sitcom ''Will & Grace'', portrayed by Eric McCormack. He is a lawyer who lives in the Upper West Side of New York City with his best friend, Grace Ad ...

's boss), during season two of '' Will & Grace'' (1999–2000).

Early life and education

Jo Marie Payton was born on August 3, 1950, in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. Sometime during her early teens, her family relocated to Opa-locka, Florida. Payton attended high school at North Dade Jr./ Sr. High School and later graduated from

Miami Carol City Senior High School Miami Carol City Senior High School (MCCSH) is a public high school located at 3301 Miami Gardens Drive in Miami Gardens, Florida, United States. It was established in 1963. The school is part of the Miami-Dade County Public Schools system. The sc ...

in 1968. Payton graduated from Albany State University.

Career

Payton's big break came 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 audiences that she was given her own sitcom, '' Family Matters'', in 1989. Continuing her character Harriette Winslow from ''Perfect Strangers'', she played a mother in a middle-class black family living in Chicago, Illinois. Payton left ''Family Matters'' partway through its final season, appearing for the last time on December 19, 1997, during increasing tension between her and star

Jaleel White Jaleel Ahmad White (born November 27, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Steve Urkel on the sitcom ''Family Matters''. The character was originally intended to be a one-time guest appearance on the show; however, he wa ...

(the two nearly came to blows and had to be physically separated during Payton's penultimate episode). Harriette Winslow was played by Judyann Elder in the show's remaining eight episodes. In 2002, Payton appeared on the "TV Moms" episode of the Anne Robinson version of ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

'', and was the third one voted off. In 2003, Payton and her daughter appeared on a Mother's Day episode of ''

Lingo Lingo, a contraction of language, often refers to jargon, but in a less formal or technical sense. Lingo may also refer to: Technology * Lingo (programming language), one of several unrelated programming languages * Lingo (VoIP Service operator ...

'', playing against fellow TV mom Meredith Baxter and her daughter. Baxter and her daughter won. In 2005, Jo Marie Payton provided the voice of Suga Mama in '' The Proud Family Movie''. Her other television credits include ''

Desperate Housewives ''Desperate Housewives'' is an American comedy-drama soap opera television series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Marc Cherry, Cherry Productions. It aired for eight seasons on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from Octobe ...

'', '' Reba'', '' Girlfriends'', ''

Wanda at Large ''Wanda at Large'' is an American sitcom starring Wanda Sykes; Sykes also created the series alongside Bruce Helford, Les Firestein, and Lance Crouther. The series aired for two seasons on Fox from March 26 to November 7, 2003. Synopsis Sykes st ...

'', ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', '' The Parkers'', '' Will & Grace'', '' The Hughleys'', '' 7th Heaven'', ''

Moesha ''Moesha'' () is an American television sitcom that aired on UPN from January 23, 1996, to May 14, 2001. The series stars R&B singer Brandy Norwood as Moesha Denise Mitchell, an African-American teenager living with her upper middle class famil ...

'', '' The Jamie Foxx Show'', ''

227 Year 227 ( CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condi ...

'', '' Silver Spoons'', ''

Small Wonder Small Wonder or variants may refer to: Film, television and theatre * ''Small Wonder'' (TV series), a 1985–1989 American sitcom * '' A Small Wonder'', a 1966 Australian television film * '' Small Wonders'', a 1995 documentary film * ''Small Wond ...

'' and ''

The New Odd Couple ''The New Odd Couple'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on ABC from 1982 to 1983, and was an updated version of the 1970s television series '' The Odd Couple''. ''The New Odd Couple'' was the second attempt to remake a series ...

''. She also appeared in the Canadian TV miniseries ''The Rev'' as Mama. In 2005, Payton co-hosted the 15th Annual

NAACP Theatre Awards The NAACP Theatre Awards are a NAACP member voted awards started in 1991 and presented annually by the Beverly Hills-Hollywood branch of the NAACP to honor outstanding people of color in theater. The ceremonies usually take place in the Los Angele ...

with

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

. In August 2009, Payton appeared on '' Meet the Browns'' as Shirley Van Owen. Payton hosted her own show on the Hometeam Network, ''Second Chance with Jomarie Payton''. In 2012, Payton was in the GMC TV movie special ''From This Day Forward''.

Other career

In 2004, in an effort to help raise funds for Virginia Union University, Payton wrote letters to alumni urging them to donate money in amounts from $18.65 to $186,500, in honor of the University's founding date of 1865. Payton also continued to donate, host charitable events, and support her alma mater of Albany State University while also continuing her education and making a successful career.

Personal life

Payton is a member of the

Alpha Kappa Alpha Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. () is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen stud ...

sorority. In 1999, she released a jazz album, ''Southern Shadows''. Payton has been married four times and divorced three times. Her first marriage was to Marc France from 1980 to 1987 with whom she has a daughter, Chantale France, born 1984.NNDB - Jo Marie Payton
/ref> From April 17, 1993 until 1998, Payton was married to Rodney Noble. Shortly after divorcing Noble, Payton married Landrus Clark in 1998; later divorcing in 2004. Payton has been married to Leonard Downs since 2007.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Payton, Jo Marie 1950 births African-American actresses Living people American television actresses American voice actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses People from Albany, Georgia Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state) Albany State University alumni 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people