Jackée Harry is an OG in the entertainment industry who has had her fair share of sitting high and looking low as her peers strive to reach their own pinnacle of success.
The actress landed her breakout role on the hit series “227” in 1985, where she played Sandra Clark.
The role — which she admittedly was reluctant to accept, having set her sights on being an Oscar-winning film star — earned her a history-making win at the 1987 Daytime Emmys when she won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
The career milestone made her the first African-American woman to ever win in that category. Sheryl Lee Ralph became the second 35 years later when she won in 2022 at the awards show. Reflecting on the height of her success, Harry said that the win changed everything about her life.
“Yeah, the check went up but the check was going up anyway. It was fabulous. I had a fabulous time, it was the ’80s hunny, oh, and the ’90s,” she said in a recent interview for VladTV. “But I had a ball, make no mistake about it, I was not unhappy, ever. Ever. Made a lot of money.”
“The Women of Brewster Place” star added, “I don’t know who said money — please. It’s much better having money than not but it, yeah, it changed everything. I got offered roles, yes. I got movies, yeah, but I just did ’em and my ego got out of control for about three years.”
Harry went on to note, “I wasn’t mean or anything, but I had an air of superiority, and I knew it. And I fought it, and I still do.”
She explained, “But sometimes ego can crawl right up your neck. See I’m sitting here, I had to take a mon-mon [moment] to calm down because before you know it you’re thinking, ‘I’m Jackée!’ So that was there, but I fight it everyday ‘cause it doesn’t do any good.”
Reactions to her account of indulging in her ego include:
“Big of her to admit it.”
“I loved her on 227 when I was a kid, she deserves the confidence she has.”
“She completely played herself by getting caught up in her own hype…she made the same mistake that Gary Coleman made.”
“Jackée Harris was the sh*t, I used to watch her with my mom. She’s a true Black actress.”
Harry previously confessed that “black-ish” creator Kenya Barris was on the receiving end of her inflated ego. As a result, she jokingly said her career took a hit.
