Jaleel White played the love-sick, suspenders-wearing Steve Urkel on the long-running sitcom Family
Matters and earned countless fans thanks to the quirky character.
But after the show ended, he never managed to reach the same level of success.
That's surely left you wondering : what happened to our favorite TV nerd?
Throughout the '90s, Jaleel White wore what became signature suspenders as he played the
iconic Steve Urkel on Family Matters.
The young actor joined the series halfway through season one for what was supposed to
be a one-time guest appearance.
Little did he know his nerdy role would eventually become the show's most popular character,
with Urkel turning the then-failing television series into a massive success story, according
to People.
Do you remember the bumbling character's cardigans and catchphrase?
"Did I do that?"
Frankly, fans loved Urkel so much that he even made appearances in other popular sitcoms
like Full House and Step by Step.
Proving how important the role was to White, in 2017, he told The Hollywood Reporter,
"I guard this character with my life."
That makes sense considering the suspender-wearing teen was responsible for kickstarting White's
entire career.
Unfortunately, it seemed to end there for this young actor.
When Family Matters finished its successful run in 1998, White's onscreen prospects began
to disappear.
Jaleel White's first post-Family Matters gig was a starring role in the short-lived UPN
series Grown Ups which aired from 1999 to 2000.
Though the first episode had great ratings, it all went downhill from there.
The numbers dropped significantly, and the show was canceled after just one season.
White has also dabbled in voice acting over the years, landing starring gigs in 1998's
Quest for Camelot and 1999's Our Friend, Martin, in which he voiced the character of a young
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Between 1993 and 1996, he also turned up as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog in Adventures
of Sonic the Hedgehog and its subsequent series.
In 2009, White landed a starring role as the groom in the marriage mockumentary Road to
the Altar, but even that couldn't revitalize his waning notoriety.
His road after that consisted of one-offs and a spin on the 2012 season of the reality
competition Dancing With the Stars.
So what's gone wrong?
Well, White blamed his disappearance from television on the evolution of Hollywood,
telling Access Hollywood,
"People ask me all the time, 'Why haven't we seen you?'
It's more of a reflection of what has happened in television development than anything to
do with me."
In 2006, TMZ reported that a fake story was making the rounds claiming a 29-year-old Jaleel
White had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, leaving behind a note that
read, "Did I do that?"
According to Snopes, the imposter Associated Press article alleged,
"Following the cancellation of Family Matters in 1997, friends claim White became obsessed
with the character, and grew despondent, despite further successes as star and producer of
the UPN sitcom Grownups, and as a writer for NBA.com."
Thankfully, the story was false.
But obviously, you can't get much work in Hollywood if everyone thinks you're dead.
In 2011, TMZ reported that Jaleel White was under investigation for allegedly abusing
the mother of his child, Bridget Hardy.
Sources told the tab,
"White allegedly punched [Hardy] in one of her breast implants while they were driving
on Pacific Coast Highway [...] with an infant in the car.
[…] [S]he claims when they got home White allegedly slapped her, and pushed her into
a toilet so hard it broke the tank."
White's camp denied the claims, telling the outlet,
"This is just a ploy in an ongoing custody battle over their young daughter to tarnish
his name."
Weeks later, the actor was cleared of all charges due to a lack of evidence.
However, the allegations continued to dog White's reputation.
And it wasn't the only time he was accused of having a problem with his temper.
During White's stint on Dancing With the Stars in 2012, rumors emerged regarding drama behind
the scenes.
Reports came out that he had lashed out at his professional dancing partner Kym Johnson.
What was the problem?
White supposedly felt Johnson had overreacted to the fact that he had stepped on her foot
during rehearsal.
A source told People,
"[White] definitely was out of line.
It basically didn’t have anything to do with Kym or her foot – he was just stressed
out and ready to snap.
[…] Both [pro dancer Mark Ballas and contestant Donald Driver] wound up having words with
him, mostly trying to get him to realize that he needed to just get a grip already."
As for White, he claimed the accusations were exaggerated, telling People,
"We go to work every day, and there is an alley full of tabloid reporters.
It’s not fair to us [...] and I hope people can see through it.
There’s no drama in my life."
Whether the accusations were true or not true, the Family Matters alum was voted off the
reality competition, thus ending his small-screen comeback.
More than two decades after Jaleel White's time on Family Matters, he still hasn't escaped
his Steve Urkel image.
The actor's recognizable role will forever be remembered by fans and will surely follow
him until his final film.
That might leave you wondering if there will ever be a Family Matters revival.
White admitted in 2019 that the studio has never spoken to him about it, but his former
co-star, Darius McCrary, who plays Eddie Winslow in the famous sitcom, has revealed that he's
met with White to figure out how to make a follow-up series happen.
White has even publicly teased his own proposal for a reboot.
He told Q on CBC,
"I have some ideas about what I think how the property should be explored [...]"
He added,
"[My ideas are] respectful to everybody and [take] into account that the '90s were a very
special time."
It sure was for Jaleel White.
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