Struggles Faced by 'Family Matters' Star Jaimee Foxworth after the Show Ended

Jaimee Foxworth starred as Judy Winslow in the late 1980s comedy “Family Matters.” But at the end of the fourth season, something weird happened that changed the course of the rest of her life.

“Family Matters” first aired in 1989 and soon became a huge success. Jaimee starred as one of three siblings on the show, but at the end of Season 4, Judy played by Jaimee, got sent to her room never to be seen again.

When Season 5 started, the Winslows had only two children. The storyline did not explain the character’s sudden disappearance; it just happened.

“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,” Jaimee told The Root in 2017. “They figured they could just throw me away, no explanation at all. Some of my cast members knew before I did.”

Fourteen years old when she got cut from the show, Jaimee had not had the childhood of regular children. She struggled to adjust to her new life and turned to drug and alcohol.

Jaimee had used up all the money she had made on the show and found herself, and her family broke. As financial problems mounted, an opportunity to make good money in a porn film presented itself, and so Jaimee entered the world of porn at the age of nineteen in 1998.

The former child star had dwindling self-esteem and saw it as an opportunity to make easy money. "It was, to me, the quickest money," Jaimee said. "I was so naïve, and I was drinking."

During an interview with Oprah in 2006, Jaimee openly spoke of these times in the hopes that future young stars in showbiz won’t make the same mistakes she had.

She had since taken control of her life and fell pregnant with her first child with longtime-boyfriend Michael Shaw in 2008. During an interview with PEOPLE in December 2008, Jaimee revealed that she felt better than she had in a long time.

“I haven’t been this happy in years,” Jaimee said. “I am excited about what the future holds for us.” Late in May 2009, Jaimee gave birth to their son Michael Douglas Shaw Jr. in Los Angeles.

But eight years later it became clear that fans of the show never forgot about her cut from the show. In 2017, Entertainment Weekly published a reunion photo of the cast with Judy omitted, and the one thing fans wanted to know; where is Judy.

In a related story in May 2018, Jaimee Foxworth proudly showed off her son and revealed the event the led to her turning her life into a happy and productive one.