Jackée Harry is the sexy, smart and vivacious actress best known for her roles as 'Sandra Clark' on the TV series '227' and as 'Lisa Landry' in 'Sister, Sister.' She attended the High School of Music and Art and Long Island University, where she earned a B.A. in education. Jackée Harry actually began her career as a history teacher at Brooklyn Technical High School, but left the profession after two years to follow her dream.
She began studying acting at the Henry Street Settlement on the Lower East Side in New York City and soon began a career on the New York stage. She appeared in 'A Broadway Musical' in the late seventies. In 1983, she made her television debut on 'Another World' as Lily Mason, a role she continued until 1986.
Jackée Harry began starring as 'Sandra Clark' on the NBC sitcom '227' along with Marla Gibbs in 1985. As the breakout star of '227' she became the first African American to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
After leaving '227' in 1989, Jackée Harry starred opposite Oprah Winfrey in the adaptation of Gloria Naylor's novel, 'The Women of Brewster Place.'
From 1994 to 1999, Jackée played Tia Mowry's character's adoptive mother on the ABC/WB sitcom, 'Sister, Sister.' She won the NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for two consecutive years in 1999 and 2000. She also had a recurring role as 'Vanessa' on The CW series 'Everybody Hates Chris.'
Jackée then appeared on the second season of VH1's 'Celebrity Fit Club 2' in 2005, where she lost 39 pounds over 100 days. Her achievement marked one of the top weight losses in the history of the show.
Since the mid-2000s, she has appeared in stage productions of 'The Sunshine Boys,' 'Damn Yankees,' and 'A Christmas Carol.' She most recently toured nationally in J.D. Lawrence's 'The Clean Up Woman.'
Just last week she unveiled her own signature milkshake, the 'Jackée Frappé,' at the popular 'Millions of Milkshakes' in West Hollywood, in support of 'Womens International Center' a non-profit service and education organization, devoted to assisting disadvantaged women, children, and animals in Africa, South America, and the United States. The organization recently appointed Jackée to the post of Ambassador to Africa, which has her providing educational, safety, and economic resources to refugees and displaced women and children.
She was recently tapped as the National Spokesperson for a renowned nutraceutical company by the name of GBG. The company seeks to promote total prosperity from a life, health, and wealth perspective. And Jackée intends to use her "celebrity platform" for good; by helping those with financial, as well as health disparities. More information can be found on http://www.gbgjackee.com/.
This is the second time I've had the pleasure to photograph Jackée. She is intelligent, warm, funny and charming to work with and everything fun you imagine her to be. Eric Venturo worked out the lighting and Jackée provided the sass and sex appeal you see here.
All photos: Alan Mercer Lighting: Eric Venturo
AM: Hi Jackée, what are you wanting to do next in your career?
JH: I don't want to do anything to be honest! I'm older now.
AM: Do you enjoy not working?
JH: No I'm working. I just did a play for the past two years!
AM: So you want to work?
JH: Oh yeah! I'm not sitting around wondering why I'm not doing this or that. You learn in this business that ageism is a factor and racism is a factor to some people along with sexism. Ageism is a big problem and nobody talks about it, but it's a reality. When I get to that point where I really start looking older, and I haven't gotten to that yet, I'll be working.
AM: You look thirty right now.
JH: (Laughing) Oh you're kind. I'm not freaking out about it. I did for about maybe five years but I still worked steadily. I do a lot of plays so I'm glad I'm trained that way because if I wasn't...
AM: Isn't your background theater?
JH: Yes I come from theater. That's where I was trained.
AM: Was this is New York?
JH: Yes at the Henry Street Settlement. Dick Anthony Williams was my mentor and he still is my teacher. Bill Dukes is also there. That's where I learned my craft. Thank God I'm actually able to perform so I'm not sitting around at home. I'm just not doing television and films at the moment.
AM: There's not a lot going on at times.
JH: No and there's not a lot of women doing anything. It's Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton. It's very rare. Even Lily Tomlin is kind of a cultish thing. I guess that's what I'll be...a cult.
AM: Well there's nothing wrong with that! Was '227' your first show?
JH: No it was the soap opera 'Another World.' I went from soaps to sitcoms.
AM: What character did you play on 'Another World?'
JH: A prostitute of course! I was a fabulous prostitute. My name was Lily Mason. I was a woman of the night.
AM: Do your fans remember this part?
JH: Oh yeah. They're still there. I've received offers to do more soap operas but the acting's so different. That's why a lot of people don't do them. It's a different setting. I don't do commercials really because it's a different kind of acting and once you get into that groove it's hard to get out of it. I'm already typecast so I don't want to pursue anything else. People ask me why not, you're not doing anything else and I'm like "So!"
AM: How are you typecast?
JH: Sexy, sassy, brassy, all of that. I'm not taken as a serious dramatic actress.
AM: How did your characters differ from '227' to 'Sister, Sister?'
JH: 'Sister, Sister' was a mother. No sex appeal and I loved it. I didn't want to do it at first. I remember thinking to myself, "A mother! Pu-leeze!" I was much younger then. It ended about eleven years ago. It's more popular now than it was then.
AM: I know that you have won several awards for your acting. How does that make you feel?
JH: Proud. People always talk about it but you don't carry your awards around in your car or at least I don't. I do keep them in full view but I don't rest on laurels. If you do that you are dead.
AM: What are your priorities in life?
JH: Making myself happier by just being me and accepting that this is what I am. I'm an actress. This is what I do for a living. I'm a spokes person for several groups. Education is my main feature. I believe that education is the key to opening up people's minds. Some people don't believe me. You may not have to go to a four year college. I firmly believe that two year colleges are fine for some people. If you don't have anything to do get yourself in college. That will show you somewhere to go.
AM: What is your educational background?
JH: I went to Long Island University and graduated. I did one year of my Masters at NYU I never finished because my career took over. I'm not going to go back but I think I'm going to teach because I have a teacher's certificate. I taught at Brooklyn Technical High School...all boys.
AM: Before you became a famous actress?
JH: Yes I taught American History. So that's my background. Writing will probably be my final career.
AM: So you have every intention of being a writer?
JH: I'm doing a book on ' Jackée Say-isms.' I have a lot of sayings like, "Is a bluebird blue?" Does water seek it's own level? Is up a direction? All kinds of things I've heard over the years. I want to put them all together. It will be fun for people to read.
AM: You mentioned your priority to make yourself happy. Have you had a happy life so far?
JH: Oh yeah, but I have put my career first and sacrificed a lot of things to be successful. Another one of my sayings is, "Being successful takes courage." Maya Angelou told me that. I said, "What do you mean? I'm just working." Then she said, "How many young black women would be on the road by themselves working darling?" She's right, I don't take it for granted anymore. It takes courage to work and to survive.
AM: If a great part on television came up you'd do it?
JH: Absolutely. That's what I do for a living.
AM: But you want to do it for a living or because you are into it?
JH: I'm still into it. Look at Betty White. 83 and going strong. Who ever knew she'd still be a big star? She's fabulous at what she does. She's an icon. Some people call me that and I say I don't think so but maybe I am. There's nothing wrong with that.
AM: The longer you stay in the front of the cultures mind the more you turn into an icon I think.
JH: Right.
AM: You already are an icon to some degree.
JH: An icon to me is someone who you can mention their name and everybody goes, Oh!
AM: Well you're that way. When I mention to people that I would be working with you they all got excited.
JH: Yes I know that excitement but an icon is more "Elizabeth Taylor Oh!" You know what I'm saying!?!
AM: I also know that the icons never think they're icons.
JH: I don't want to be a legend either. Joan Collins told me, "Legends don't get laid." I'm still getting laid! (Laughter)
AM: So is everything else, like your family life, doing great?
JH: That what I'm most proud of. My son is making A's in school and he's so happy to be in the academic world and the sports world. I just wanted him to be a good human being and he is a wonderful human being. He's also very competitive and that's good for him because I am as well and so is his Dad. It's makes me very proud that he's happy doing that. If he doesn't want to do that it's alright with me too. I told him I wasn't looking for him to be Michael Jordan, but he is and I like that. He has his own view points and guidelines for his own life which is perfect.
AM: Do you have women asking you for advice?
JH: All the time and they are young women. That's another one of my pet projects and that's to empower young women, as well as young men, if they ask me. I run into more young women from ages sixteen to about thirty-five. Some of them are lost when it comes to their love lives.
AM: Is that something you know a lot about?
JH: I'm good at that because I believe the best thing you can do with another person is to listen and truly be involved with their life. It sounds simple but it's difficult when you're working eight to ten hours a day and come home and still have to energize yourself towards them.
AM: What do you tell them?
JH: Be involved in what your partner has to say. Don't be phony about it. Tell them if you've had a rough day and then get that off your mind and go into the conversation about them. Keep the focus strictly on your partner. Learn what's happening with them. People don't do that. They take it for granted.
AM: I don't get the impression that you are ever phony. Is that true?
JH: I'm not ever phony.
AM: Do you think it has been good, bad or indifferent in your career?
JH: I could have done more projects and worked many more jobs if I had said the right things. I can't keep it up. I can only keep it up for about twenty minutes then I have to be Jackée.
AM: So if they aren't interested in you for who you are you are not interested?
JH: I can't do anything about it. I've tried but I can't lie. That's another one of my sayings. If it's the truth it's easy to remember, but if it's a lie then you have to remember your ass off. How long can you do that? Some people lie for a living, like con artists. Basically you can't live a lie. It doesn't make any sense to me. I figure why bother. I'll just be me because it's easier.
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