Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Culture
CultureEntertainment

Fans React to Famed TV Psychic Miss Cleo’s Death at 53 After Fight With Cancer

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
miss-cleo-psychic

General Mills

Miss Cleo, the famous television psychic who sprung to fame in the 1990s, has died. Born Youree Harris, the star passed away at age 53 in a hospice center. Known for her catchphrase, “call me now!” as the Jamaican psychic on her Psychic Readers Network infomercials, she gave viewers insight into their future – all for entertainment.

Harris’ representatives broke the news to TMZ today admitting the TV personality had been hospitalized recently for colon cancer that spread to her lungs and liver. She was released last week to a hospice center in Palm Beach County, Florida. Her rep told the site Harris was a “pillar of strength” and died surrounded by family and friends.

Though Harris’ claim to fame came from the Readers Network advertisements featuring her thick accent  – which ran for seven years from 1997 to 2003 – The New York Daily News reports she was actually born in Los Angeles, California in 1962.  Harris also found work in voiceover. She voiced a character in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City video game. And in 2003, she signed on as a spokesperson for Fuse Network. Two years later, she appeared as Miss Cleo in ads for Uncle Mel’s Used Cars in Plantation, Florida. Most recently, she revived the character for General Mills’ French Toast Crunch cereal campaign last year.

Chron reports the famous Jamaican character was created in 1996, when Harris worked as a playwright in Seattle, Washington.

Since news of Harris’ death broke, many have reacted social media.

Author Tiffany D. Jackson called Miss Cleo the “greatest fake Jamaican that ever lived!”

@_zolarmoon reacted to Harris’ relatively young age at her death.

https://twitter.com/_zolarmoon/status/758021935519248384

Lexus Holloway similarly remarked the star was gone too soon, reflecting on her commercials.

https://twitter.com/tweetbirdLexus/status/758021926019330048

Robin E. Beck called Harris’ character the “OG psychic.”

D. Scott shared is condolences, adding Miss Cleo was part of his childhood entertainment.

https://twitter.com/KOMW97/status/758026483474530304

Many jokingly wondered if Harris saw her death coming, but a tweet by @3lone reveals a serious tone, given the current racial climate of America.

 

Independent journalism doesn't fund itself.

We hope this story was worth your time. For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed Black-owned and independently run. We didn't get here by waiting on ad budgets that were never built to prioritize us. Our readers did that.

Corporate support for Black media has always been thin. Outlets like ours get roughly 1% of the $170 billion spent on U.S. advertising each year, and that margin is shrinking further as advertisers walk back the DEI-linked commitments they made in 2020. That's the backdrop. It's not why we're asking.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top