Kym Whitley Recalls Being Spotted for Her Resemblance to Jackée Harry in the “227 ”Studio Audience and Being Called Backstage by Marla Gibbs

Angela AndaloroTue, May 26, 2026 at 7:53 PM UTC

0

Kym Whitley (left), Jackée Harry and Marla Gibbs on '227'
Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty; Columbia Pictures Television/Courtesy Everett -

Kym Whitley was a young unknown when she snuck into the studio audience for 227, ultimately leading to her big break

Whitley was noticed for her resemblance to Jackée Harry, but as Whitley came into the fold, Harry had her hesitations

Whitley recalls how Marla Gibbs stepped in to teach her a lesson as a young actress in that tense situation

Kym Whitley is remembering how she took her first steps in the entertainment world.

The Next Friday actress, 64, appeared on the We Sound Crazy podcast, where she opened up about how she went from being a girl from Cleveland, figuring herself out, to ending up in the 227 studio audience and unknowingly launching her career.

Whitley explained that she'd make friends with security guards who could get her into events. From there, she'd work the room and see who she could meet, crediting her "wild spirit" for allowing her to do so without fear. "I came out to L.A. and I was like, 'Okay, what's next? Oh, there's a show, 227, and they say I look like her. I'm going over there,' " she recalled.

"I got in, because I'm gonna get in. I look at it today and I'm like, 'You've got to have a ticket. You've got to get to know somebody.' I'm in the audience, by myself, sitting there, watching the show," the actress continued.

Whitley recalled the audience warm-up person working the audience when Simone Sheffield raised her hand to ask him a question. "She said, 'I want to know if that girl right there is Jackée's sister,' " she said.

"This is what I'm talking about, God. This had nothing to do with me," she continued, sharing that the warm-up person asked her to stand up. As she stood up and introduced herself as Kym Whitley from Cleveland, Marla Gibbs noticed her from the floor of the set.

"Marla Gibbs says to somebody, 'Go get that girl and bring her back here.' It sounds crazy!" Whitley said.

Advertisement

Kym Whitley in 2000
Credit: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty

— sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Whitley was briefly concerned she was in trouble for sneaking in, but instead, Gibbs wanted to get to know her. She told Gibbs she was an actress despite not having landed any roles at that time. "She said, 'Listen, we have something coming up and we're going to need you,' " the actress said.

This fast-tracked Whitley's move to L.A., where she was contacted for an episode of the show where Harry had a twin sister. Because Whitley wasn't in the union yet, she couldn't step in to play her twin, but she was able to be a body double.

While on the set, Whitley was just being herself, but the reaction from studio audiences began to frustrate Harry. Whitley said, "We're friends now. I learned a lesson, but I wouldn't change what I did because it was my chance to shine."

"Jackée got mad because I'm upstaging her and the audience is cracking up," Whitley said. "I don't know. But she doesn't know that I don't know. I'm green... I didn't understand that there were so many things that happened on that set. And then I would come back and they'd be like, 'Kym, Jackée don't want to see you on set.' "

Marla Gibbs and Jackée Harry on '227'
Credit: Columbia Pictures Television / Courtesy Everett

Whitley recalled watching the show from under the bleachers, where the audience sat, during a few moments. "Marla Gibbs, during the filming when it got really bad, Marla Gibbs, I'll never forget it, she came and said, 'Come here and let me talk to you.' And she pulled me in, when it was going back and forth — and you have to remember, Jackée and Marla were having a power struggle because this is Marla's show, but Jackée's like the Urkel, that thing that starts to take over. This thing was happening, but I didn't know nothing about this," she explained.

"Marla pulls me into a closet and says, 'Don't let her disrespect you again.' She said, 'We can't finish this show without you.' She said, 'If she disrespects you, then walk off the set,' " Whitley continued, admitting she was fine being disrespected because this was her first opportunity and she didn't want to ruffle feathers. "But Marla, she was giving me a lesson. We went through it. Me and Marla, of course, are still friends. She loves me and I love her."

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”