Remember Judy Winslow on 'Family Matters'? She's 39 Now & Has a Handsome Grown Son

Former child star Jamie Foxxworth is now an adult with a son of her own. But she still freshly remembers what it felt to be a young girl cast aside when producers of “Family Matters” decided to write her off from the sitcom.

Jamie Foxxworth famously vanished from her 80s show, “Family Matters” after playing young Judy Winslow for four seasons. It was a production decision that boggled not just her fans but Jamie herself who admits feeling set aside without even a storyline to ease her out of the show. When new characters came in, she was just slowly written off and the original Winslow family of five just became a family of four.

REJECTED ALL OVER AGAIN

Now more than 25 years later, Jamie is a grown woman who has a son of her own but still feels the stigma of being cast aside. In 2017, a "Family Matters" reunion photo shoot was initiated by Entertainment Weekly and just like old times, Jamie was not included.

Speaking to The Root after the cover came out, Jamie says she never received a call. It was her former co-star, Shawn Harrison who reached out to her before the photos came out to warn her about it. He was surprised that Jamie was not included.

“They figured they could just throw me away, no explanation at all. Some of my cast members knew before I did.”

Feeling like she was jilted all over again, Jamie admitted she was upset by her exclusion.

“It was a slap in the face from Entertainment Weekly. I don’t think there’s any good explanation.,” she said.

The 39-year-old ventured into adult films more than a decade ago but she thinks it’s unfair to use that as an excuse not to invite her to the shoot.

“If they want to use adult films as the reason, I’m not the first person to do adult films and won’t be the last,” she added.

REHASHING OLD WOUNDS

Because the events were all too familiar to Jamie, she recalled what happened the first time she felt rejected on the show and why she thinks producers thought of simply allowing her to vanish into thin air without any explanation.

“The producers felt that they could do it and no one would notice. They’d done it with previous shows they had. They figured no one would really care. My fans took notice of it.”

She continued,

“They figured they could just throw me away, no explanation at all. Some of my cast members knew before I did.”

Jamie still vividly remembers how that incident affected her self-esteem, thinking she wasn’t good enough.

“I’m not that little girl anymore. Judy and “Family Matters” don’t define me. What defines me is how my son turns out.

PICKING UP THE PIECES

Today, Jamie is more confident and knows her worth. Now that she’s a mother who overcame drug addiction in her past, she won’t stand for any more oppression.

“You can’t let people trample all over you. At some point you have to speak out. And let people know some things are not OK. I had to speak out and say something.”

“I’m not that little girl anymore. Judy and “Family Matters” don’t define me. What defines me is how my son turns out. I don’t want people to look at my past, and even this situation, and judge me. I am extremely happy in the place that I’m in right now. I’m just trying to live my best life.”

Proof of Jamie’s joy is in the photo below where she's spending time with her young son. Indeed, this is where her happiness lies. This is her defining moment.