Jackée Harry and Kym Whitley are one of Hollywood’s most iconic set of doppelgangers. Despite being a generation apart as far as their career starts, in the age of social media it has been brought up over and over again with side by sides and comparisons of them. While the ladies have enjoyed their individual successes, Kym recently revealed that Jackée was not always happy about having a look alike.
Even Tyler Perry got Jackee and Kim Whitley mixed up 😩😩💀💀🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/GsleNdSulS
— TalksWithTreiPodcast (@That_Guy_Trei) October 10, 2019
Jackée Harry got her start back in the late ’70s in broadway and theater. She then made the leap to television and became a massive star thanks to the success of 227. Ironically, Jackée got some flack at the time for outshining the show’s lead Marla Gibbs and scoring a major Emmy Award in the process. Jackée’s historic win made her the only black woman to take home outstanding supporting actress in a comedy until recently when Sheryl Lee Ralph won for Abbott Elementary.
Harry would go on to gain a second wind in the ’90s as Lisa Landry on Sister, Sister opposite Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry, and Tim Ried. She is currently starring in Days of Our Lives as Paulina Price. Kym Whitley got her start in comedy. The actress helms from the same town as Gerald Levert in Ohio, and the pair dated briefly until their careers took over. Levert told her he could not date a woman pursuing stardom as well, so they went their separate ways.Kym got her start in the late ’80s stage play BeautyShop which would eventually become the 2005 film starring Queen Latifah. Kym is remembered by many for her appearances in Next Friday, Deliver Us From Eva, Young & Hungry, The Parkers, and Black Dynamite.
Kym also had a powerful story about accidentally becoming a mother. She was the emergency contact for a young lady she was mentoring and called to the hospital when the girl had given birth and decided she did not want the child. Kym decided to raise him with her friend Rodney Van Johnson. Their family dynamic became the subject of an OWN series titled Raising Whitley. She is also recently partnered with Lena Waithe to retell her story through an Audible podcast titled Kym.
People have been confusing Kym and Jackée for years now, especially in the social media era. Tyler Perry accidentally tagged Harry in a photo of Kym. Kym opened up about their comparisons and let fans in on a little-known fact; she was actually Jackée’s stand in/double during her time on 227. “Jackée did not like it; let’s just go ahead and be honest,” Whitley recalled. “Jackée did not like me looking like her.”
Kym goes on to say that Harry and her sister made her life hard while working on set with them. She got some advice from Marla Gibbs, who told her to stand up for herself. While Kym says she never wanted to make waves, the whole ordeal helped her and Marla grow close and the two remain friends to this day. She and Jackée are now friends.
