Post by SeainDennis on Nov 12, 2002 12:05:37 GMT -5
www.bet.com/articles/0,1048,c5gb4509-5218,00.html
FOUND: Jamiee Foxworth
By Juli M. Wyatt, Special to BET.com
Posted Nov. 12, 2002 -- Best remembered as Judy Winslow, the youngest of the three Winslow children from the TV hit sitcom, "Family Matters," Jamie Foxworth was on our TV screens weekly (1989-93), and then, without a trace, she was gone. The character of Judy was merely written out the series at the end of the fourth season without an explanation and May 14, 1993, was the last time Jaimee Foxworth's name appeared in the opening credits while playing with her dollhouse. Foxworth was 10 when she started the show and just 13 at the time she was released. Now a decade later, Foxworth, who's about to turn 23 this December, still struggles with what happened.
At the age of 20, depressed, bankrupt and down on her luck, Foxworth turned to alcohol and turned to a different brand of entertainment. She became a porn star and appeared in more than a dozen hard-core porn videos. The sexier, eyebrow-pierced Foxworth, known in the adult entertainment industry as "Crave," starred in sex videos including, "Booty Talk 20: Super Fine Sistas," "More Black Dirty Debutantes 30" and "The Adventures of Peeping Tom 28."
"I got caught up in the wrong crowd. A lot of my friends were shooting porn films. I was broke, so when I was offered $15,000 to work on a porno I had to say yes. I was offered $15,000 for a half-hour's worth of work. It was hard to resist. That's easy money," she said. "It's not a lifestyle that I really wanted to get into, but I was desperate. It was more of a necessity. People said I had the body and looks for it and it paid good money, it paid the bills. Since I was a former TV actor I got paid a little more than the other girls. But I'm not very proud of some of the things I've done. "
Foxworth began her career at age 5, modeling and appearing in national TV commercials. She appeared on the television series "Amen" and "TV 101," before landing her big break in 1989 on "Family Matters." "Everyone always asks, 'what happened to you?' At the end of the fourth season my character walks up the stairs to her room but she never came down and no one ever mentioned me again. I just vanished. I remember asking my mom 'when are we going back to work,' but that day never came."
Foxworth's mother, Gwynn Foxx, was once an accomplished actress herself, but rumors circulated that she, as Foxworth's manager, had made demands to "Family Matters" producers that the child star receive more money. Instead of receiving a salary increase, the character of Judy, who was never given more than a few lines an episode, was released from the show and never seen on TV again.
Presumably, Foxworth was let go because the character was the least-developed and the show was beginning to focus more on the love-chase between Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) and Judy's TV sister, Laura (Kellie Wiliams). But perhaps most troubling is that Judy's disappearance was never explained in the storyline. "All I can say is that is was really a tough time for me. Looking back, I guess the writers and producers didn't know how to explain it, so they just choose not to. The producers never told me why I was written out of the show." Foxworth believes her mother's demands for more money is what ultimately led to her contract not being renewed.
FOUND: Jamiee Foxworth
By Juli M. Wyatt, Special to BET.com
Posted Nov. 12, 2002 -- Best remembered as Judy Winslow, the youngest of the three Winslow children from the TV hit sitcom, "Family Matters," Jamie Foxworth was on our TV screens weekly (1989-93), and then, without a trace, she was gone. The character of Judy was merely written out the series at the end of the fourth season without an explanation and May 14, 1993, was the last time Jaimee Foxworth's name appeared in the opening credits while playing with her dollhouse. Foxworth was 10 when she started the show and just 13 at the time she was released. Now a decade later, Foxworth, who's about to turn 23 this December, still struggles with what happened.
At the age of 20, depressed, bankrupt and down on her luck, Foxworth turned to alcohol and turned to a different brand of entertainment. She became a porn star and appeared in more than a dozen hard-core porn videos. The sexier, eyebrow-pierced Foxworth, known in the adult entertainment industry as "Crave," starred in sex videos including, "Booty Talk 20: Super Fine Sistas," "More Black Dirty Debutantes 30" and "The Adventures of Peeping Tom 28."
"I got caught up in the wrong crowd. A lot of my friends were shooting porn films. I was broke, so when I was offered $15,000 to work on a porno I had to say yes. I was offered $15,000 for a half-hour's worth of work. It was hard to resist. That's easy money," she said. "It's not a lifestyle that I really wanted to get into, but I was desperate. It was more of a necessity. People said I had the body and looks for it and it paid good money, it paid the bills. Since I was a former TV actor I got paid a little more than the other girls. But I'm not very proud of some of the things I've done. "
Foxworth began her career at age 5, modeling and appearing in national TV commercials. She appeared on the television series "Amen" and "TV 101," before landing her big break in 1989 on "Family Matters." "Everyone always asks, 'what happened to you?' At the end of the fourth season my character walks up the stairs to her room but she never came down and no one ever mentioned me again. I just vanished. I remember asking my mom 'when are we going back to work,' but that day never came."
Foxworth's mother, Gwynn Foxx, was once an accomplished actress herself, but rumors circulated that she, as Foxworth's manager, had made demands to "Family Matters" producers that the child star receive more money. Instead of receiving a salary increase, the character of Judy, who was never given more than a few lines an episode, was released from the show and never seen on TV again.
Presumably, Foxworth was let go because the character was the least-developed and the show was beginning to focus more on the love-chase between Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) and Judy's TV sister, Laura (Kellie Wiliams). But perhaps most troubling is that Judy's disappearance was never explained in the storyline. "All I can say is that is was really a tough time for me. Looking back, I guess the writers and producers didn't know how to explain it, so they just choose not to. The producers never told me why I was written out of the show." Foxworth believes her mother's demands for more money is what ultimately led to her contract not being renewed.
At any rate, it's sad that she had to go thru that type of drama. I hope everything works out for her now. she's right, she is young enough to put all that behind her and get back on track. Good luck to her.
