JoMarie Payton Got By With a Little Help From Her Friends

Gina Wilhelm Actress - JoMarie Payton Got By With a Little Help From Her Friends

JoMarie Payton has been acting since she was 6 years old playing the lead in a school production of "Little Red Riding Hood."

She's been working since then, notably playing the matriarch on the ABC comedy "Family Matters" and voicing the character Suga Mama on Disney's "The Proud Family."

Every step of the way, she's had a lot of support.

When she was in "Little Red Riding Hood," she had the chicken pox. Her teacher drove her to the show and immediately home afterwards. That teacher still remembers what a good student Payton was.

In high school, she starred in the school production of "A Raisin in the Sun," where she won a theater award that allowed her to study acting at the University of Miami and Miami Dade College.

She was reluctant to audition for a traveling show starring Robert Guillaume. She didn't want to leave her mother alone in Florida.

However, her teachers, her siblings, and even her mother urged her to take the step. All her teachers were present at the audition. And she landed the role.

The tour brought her to Los Angeles, which is where she got the role of Hariette Winslow on "Perfect Strangers," which then spun off to "Family Matters." She played that part for nine years.

Payton declares that the stage is her first passion, but above all, she says she's a people person.

She's clearly got a lot of people on her side.

Gina Wilhelm Actress