List of Family Matters characters

Played by Reginald VelJohnson.

Carlton "Carl" Otis Winslow, who originally appeared in the Perfect Strangers episode "Crimebusters" alongside his wife Harriette, is the son of Estelle Winslow and the late Samuel, brother-in-law of Rachel Crawford and the father of Eddie, Laura and Judy Winslow, uncle of Richie Crawford and adoptive father of "3J" Jameson. He is a short-tempered person but still has a kind and humble nature. He mentioned in the season one episode "The Mama Who Came to Dinner" as having three brothers named Frank (who later appeared in the season 8 episode, "The Brother Who Came to Dinner"), Walter and Calvin and in another episode from that same season, "The Party", a brother named Darryl. His initials spell "COW" and he is often teased because of this. He holds his position as "King of the Castle" (a self-proclaimed "Big Kahuna") very seriously; however, he is easy to admit defeat to Harriette when involved in typical marital disputes.

Carl is constantly annoyed, irritated and always being bothered by his pesky neighbor, Steve Urkel, who has a great respect for Carl and affectionately calls him "Big Guy". Although Steve is relentlessly annoying and has cost the Winslow family large amounts of time and money from his own clumsy demeanor, he has shown he's more mature than Eddie is in accepting responsibility. Carl is often there to back Steve up and help him out in times of distress. Although he continues to be exasperated and irritated by his antics, over the progression of the show, Carl develops a fondness for Steve that surprises even himself.

Carl is an officer for the Chicago Police Department. He takes his job seriously and it is often suggested that he is very good at what he does, despite having an incompetent if genial boss in Lt. Murtaugh. Fitting into the cop stereotype, he has an avid love for doughnuts and other junk food. This plays into the fact that he is overweight and in several stories throughout the series, Carl's physical health plays a role (in the season 4 episode "Driving Carl Crazy", he is revealed to have high blood pressure, which got dangerous because he tried to dodge dieting). Carl starts the series as a police sergeant; he is later promoted to lieutenant in season 5's "That's What Friends Are For," and eventually captain in season 9's "Who's Afraid of the Big Black Book?". Carl is also the only character to appear in every single episode of the series.

Played by Jo Marie Payton (1989–1997), and Judyann Elder (1998).

Harriette is Carl's wife, Rachel's big sister, biological mother of Eddie, Laura and Judy, aunt of Richie and adoptive mother of 3J and the daughter of Jimmy Baines and Darlene Baines. Harriette is a very conservative and strong-willed woman. She holds her role in society as a mother and working woman with high regard. Harriette is very reluctant to tell people what they want to hear, as she is very frank and upfront about her feelings. She first appeared in Perfect Strangers as an "elevator operator" for the Chicago Chronicle, before being laid off and later rehired as Director of Security in the season one episode "Two-Income Family" and then fired from the Chronicle in the season five episode "A Matter of Principle" for refusing to reduce her security staff during a budget crisis. She was later employed by Ferguson's Department Store beginning with the season six episode "The Looney Bin," initially as a service clerk, then later promoted to Head of Sales in the season nine episode "Out With the Old".

As the voice of reason, she is quite good at mediating conflicts in her family, often pointing out faults to everyone, but this also makes her very reluctant to take sides. For example, she is often very supportive of her husband, Carl, but during his feuds with another character, she rarely takes his side. Instead, she would criticize both of them, hoping to reconcile them with each other. This especially makes it difficult for Carl to discipline their rebellious son, Eddie, who rarely learned from his mistakes. Conversely, she is especially strict towards her daughter, Laura, despite being far more responsible, obedient and trustworthy. Sometimes Harriette would go as far as turn against her own husband. She is fully aware that Carl is constantly harassed by their neighbor, Steve Urkel, but flat out sides with the nerd instead, due to his fragile feelings winning her sympathy and their shared belief that Carl's agony is due to his own impatient attitude.

Nonetheless, all of her reasoning, however self-righteous, is motivated by her love for her family and her hopes that all sides can reconcile with each other. The only time she's been forced to side exclusively with Carl was during his feud with their second neighbor, Nick Neidermeyer, because her first attempt to reprimand both of them failed, with Neidermeyer still unrepentant and mocking Carl's obedience to his wife.

Played by Darius McCrary.

Eddie is a casual NBA, NFL fan and jock. He is the oldest child of Carl and Harriette Winslow and their only son until they adopt 3J in season eight. During the early years of the series, he was a high school student with stereotypical traits of a high school slacker. He had mediocre grades, irresponsible behavior and is always pursuing beautiful girls.

In the first season, he appeared good-intentioned and responsible, despite being academically challenged. In the pilot episode, he approached his father to make an exception and let him stay out past curfew and confessed to his father that his straight-A report card was a classmate's prank once he found out. As the series progressed, Eddie gradually became more rebellious, making many poor choices that landed him in trouble. Eddie frequently had a stormy relationship with his father, especially concerning Carl's strict rules but also because of Eddie's immature attitude and penchant for breaking rules. Being a rebel and hedonist, his viewpoint of adulthood is very childish, believing that all adults are free from rules, authority and punishment. He despises being treated like a kid and demands to be treated like an adult but at the same time, he scarcely acts like an adult and fiercely avoids adult responsibilities as often as possible.

It was shown a few times that Eddie was prone to gambling and getting into trouble and refused to go to Carl for help, which got him into more trouble than not, such as dealing with a pool hustler in season 2's "Fast Eddie Winslow". When getting into trouble or debt, Eddie would often try to solve the problem himself, refusing to confess to his father at the risk of being punished, which would likely land him into trouble with his father anyway. Once, after damaging the family car in the Season 2 episode, "Busted", he was caught illegally gambling at an underground casino, hoping to win money and pay for repairs without telling his parents. In the season 3 episode, "Jailhouse Blues", after getting caught joyriding in a stolen car with his delinquent cousin, he attempted to sweet talk himself out of punishment, which only got him punished for the remainder of the year. In the season five episode "Money Out the Window", after getting into gambling debt once again, he attempts to sell Carl's rare stamp, hoping to buy it back before being caught by his father. Once more, after getting scammed in season 7 episode "Scammed", he lied to his father to borrow money to pay an illegally overpriced bar tab. However, on a few occasions, he has shown he was willing to go to his father for help, such as when he was sold a stolen stereo system in season 4's "Hot Stuff" and got racially profiled by two white cops (an unapologetic racist senior officer and his obedient rookie partner) when cited for a traffic violation that he did not commit in season 5's "Good Cop, Bad Cop".

Eddie, along with his father and sister, is often constantly irritated, annoyed and harassed by their neighbor, Steve Urkel, whom he hates.

During the first two seasons, he was friends with classmate Rodney Beckett. From the third season onwards, Eddie's best friends were Waldo Faldo and Steve Urkel. He also on occasion, would hang out with "Weasel". Initially, his relationship with Steve – who considered Eddie his "best bud" and often affectionately called him "Eddo" – was little more than out of pity (because Steve was an unpopular nerd). Eddie remained loyal to Steve and he eventually accepted him as a true friend.

Eddie has dated a very large number of girls throughout the series, sometimes more than one at the same time, with very few of them reappearing as his girlfriend. Even Steve has remembered the names of many of Eddie's girlfriends but cannot keep track of which one Eddie currently dates. When he met one and attempted to guess her name, Steve foolishly blurted out many names, likely the names of Eddie's past girlfriends, which leads to Eddie chasing after the nerd. When Steve tried to invite Eddie's friends to his birthday party, he was tricked by Laura to call numbers from Eddie's "little black book", resulting in the entire family room flooded with attractive women, much to Eddie's ironic horror. However, Eddie has shown that he is not beyond desiring true love and pursuing an honest and serious relationship. His most enduring, successful, and ultimately final relationship is with Greta McClure. His relationship with Greta developed throughout the series and faced many obstacles, most notably in the forms of Myrtle Urkel and Greta's father Dave McClure (owner of Eddie's employer Mighty Weenie).

Eddie has two main adversaries on the show. The first was Myrtle Urkel, the cousin of Steve Urkel and a rich Southern belle whose infatuation with Eddie mirrored Steve's infatuation to Laura. However, unlike Steve, Myrtle never respected Eddie's personal space and kept pursuing him much to his extreme terror. She waited until season seven (beginning with the episode "She's Back") to try and win his love, but he was dating Greta at the time. Unlike Laura's would-be boyfriends when it came to Steve, Greta was more successful in warding Myrtle off. Undaunted, Myrtle made her last push to win Eddie's heart by getting a makeover but he was still not impressed. She soon relinquished her love for him in season nine's "Don't Make Me Over," and set her sights on other guys. Eddie's second main adversary was his former boss, Dave McClure, who did not approve of Eddie dating his daughter and tried to keep them apart in three episodes (including "My Bodyguard" and "Walking My Baby Back Home" in season seven). As of the series finale, Eddie and Greta are still dating and are living together in an apartment, in spite of Mr. McClure having disowned her.

Eddie has shown to have matured and become more responsible and hardworking throughout the series. Though he started as a mediocre student, he got accepted into college. He worked at a Mighty Weenie restaurant and became its manager. When his academic challenges restarted in college, Eddie switched his focus to become a police officer like his father. Eddie enrolled at the police academy in the season 9 episode "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," eventually getting hired by the Chicago Police Department as a rookie officer at the end of the series in "Lost in Space (Part 1)".

Played by Kellie Shanygne Williams.

Laura is the oldest daughter of Harriette and Carl Winslow and the object of Steve Urkel's affections. In school, Laura was essentially the ideal girl; beautiful, popular and received very good grades. Unlike her brother, who was a slacker and more into sports, Laura was very independent and focused with her education and was even distraught when her straight-A streak was broken by a mere B+. She often tried to do everything to succeed by herself, which was not always the right choice. She tried to start a babysitting business when she was a child, sneaked out of the house to burn herself out studying for a test despite her parents' insistence to rest and worked a graveyard shift to save money to buy a car. She eventually got accepted to Harvard University in season seven's "Twinkle Toes Faldo," but decided to decline the offer because her parents could not afford the tuition, though she told them it was because she could not live so far from home.

Laura, along with her father and brother is also often bothered by their annoying neighbor, Steve Urkel, whom she hates.

Laura began as quite vain, often in pursuit of popular good-looking boys, being dismissive towards Steve and showing little respect for her academically challenged older brother. She was not always a good judge of character, as a majority of her would-be boyfriends were antagonists in their appearances. She had many boyfriends who would bully Steve and who would cheat on her but would ultimately end with Steve warding them off. Laura generally had little patience for Steve's antics but her seeming dislike of him only seemed to egg him on further. She eventually grew wiser and demonstrated better judgement. She has shown appreciation to Steve when he selflessly helped her and the Winslows out when they needed him. Laura eventually learned to love Steve. They became a couple in the final (ninth) season episode "Trading Places" and were engaged to be married in the third to last episode, "Pop Goes the Question".

Played by Valerie Jones (pilot only), and Jaimee Foxworth (1989–1993).

Judy is the younger daughter and youngest biological child, of Carl and Harriette Winslow. Her middle name is unknown (Laura's middle name is Lee and Eddie's middle names are James and Arthur). She is nine years old as the series begins and remains in the series until she is thirteen. It is suggested that she enjoys a close relationship with her sister Laura. She attended elementary school and later middle school (in sixth grade). During the series' fourth season (in "Mama's Wedding"), the character disappeared from the series altogether, with no explanation given. Series co-creator and executive producer William Bickley said she was cut due to a "budget consideration". She made no occasional appearances either.[7] She can be seen in archive footage on season 6 episode “ What’s Up Doc ?”

Played by Rosetta LeNoire (1989–1995, 1996, 1997).

Estelle is the mother of Carl Winslow and his four brothers, Harriette's mother-in-law and grandmother of Eddie, Laura and Judy Winslow. Estelle is a very wise woman and always very defensive of her grandchildren. Estelle moves into her son's household at the start of the series. She (unlike all of the other Winslows) was a friend of Steve Urkel for the entire series and loved him like a grandson. She loved when Steve came to the Winslow house and instead of trying to make him leave, she wanted him to stay. Steve always affectionately called her "Estelle, my Belle," which she loved. Estelle is street-wise and keeps up to date with the latest pop culture and trends, much to the surprise of her family. In later seasons (beginning with season two's "Requiem for an Urkel"), she begins a relationship with Fletcher Thomas, which Carl disapproves of initially before eventually accepting the relationship. The two later got married at the Winslow home in season four's "Mama's Wedding". Estelle would often say her catchphrase "way to go, Carl," usually to Carl when he did something wrong that she did not like.

Played by Jaleel White. Steve Urkel is the Winslows' extremely annoying, nerdy, irritating, quintessential, pesky, boisterous, reckless, vain, clumsy, carefree, and mischievous neighbor with large, thick eyeglasses, "high-water" pants held up by suspenders, a high-pitch nasal-tone voice and a snorting laugh. He first appeared in the season one episode "Laura's First Date" and was also known for his massive crush on Laura Winslow, whose affections he was constantly attempting to win. He became known for his signature "Urkel Dance", a novelty dance that he frequently performed.

While highly intelligent, he is also quite accident-prone (spawning his catchphrase, "Did I do that?") and socially awkward. As a nerd, he gradually grows to become an inventor and soon, his ill-conceived inventions form a large bulk of the accidents which he does to the Winslow house causing Carl to yell at him. He has also created numerous inventions that were otherwise considered impossible, such as a machine which turned him into his suave alter-ego, Stefan Urquelle, as well as alter his personality into other celebrities whose DNA he inexplicably collected, such as the crime-fighting Bruce Lee Urkel.

Steve is generally portrayed as odd and dorky but kindhearted and good-natured character. However, he tends to be socially tone-deaf and other people, especially the Winslows, find him annoying. Steve's saving grace is that he is a genuinely good person who cares about others (often putting their needs and wants ahead of his own) and over time others come to genuinely like him and treat him with more respect, even as he remains a walking sight gag and prone to random disasters. While some of the main characters are more welcoming towards him, it is Carl, Eddie and Laura, who are the most tormented by his shenanigans because Steve genuinely loves them all but consistently brings disasters into their lives. And while he has a kind heart, he often doesn't appear to care how he is affecting others with his behavior (in a way, Urkel was a forerunner of the Sheldon Cooper character on The Big Bang Theory, who was also a genius and rarely noticed/cared about the way he made other people feel).

Among Steve's most antagonistic tendencies are his refusal to accept responsibility, his manipulation of others as well as himself, and his persistence. He manipulates others by intentionally showing his grief and loneliness as visibly as possible, hoping to bait the Winslows to forgive him, or more precisely, apologize for hurting his feelings and take blame for him. This allows him to end numerous episodes showing no regrets for his mistakes, disregarding all criticism, and keeping his delusion of innocence intact. And while oftentimes fully aware of how much grief he causes the Winslows, and how much he damages their home, his primary social strategy is always to keep doing whatever he is doing, until they give up ordering him to leave.

While Steve is known for having a strong sense of integrity, another likely reason for rarely being punished is that his parents and larger family were unsupportive and cold towards him, often leaving him to fend for himself; his attachment to the Winslow family makes sense in this context. By the end of the series, Steve has made it plain that he considers Carl Winslow to be his "real father" and that he doesn't care if his actual family is a factor in his life anymore.

However, Urkel finds himself more considerate of other people after enduring being stalked by Myra and finding out what it's like being unwillingly pursued, although he would still continue clinging to Laura, both to be with her as well as to escape from Myra. It is only after he lets go of Laura and accepts Myra, after much reluctance, that he no longer clings so much to others and his relationships finally become more stable.

Played by Telma Hopkins (1989–1993; recurring, 1994–1995, 1997).

Rachel was Harriette's attractive and widowed younger sister. She moved in with the Winslows shortly after her husband, Robert, died. She is the mother of Richard "Richie" Crawford and the daughter of Jimmy Baines, who appeared in the season two episode "Finding the Words" to reconcile with her and Harriette, after he walked out on them when they were little. A budding singer, she is also a writer and an entrepreneur, opening Rachel's Place (a hangout for teenagers, much in the vein of Arnold's from Happy Days) in the season two episode "Rachel's Place," which replaced Leroy's, a similar hamburger joint that Urkel had accidentally burned down while working there. Rachel is seen throughout the first four seasons; after a year's absence (due to Telma Hopkins leaving the show full-time to star in the short-lived sitcom Getting By), she made occasional appearances during the sixth and ninth seasons. Rachel considered herself more beautiful than Harriette. Rachel's trademark during the early seasons were her hats. Her final appearance was in the Christmas-themed episode "Deck the Malls" from the ninth season.

Played by Joseph & Julius Wright (credited as Joseph Julius Wright) (1989–1990); and Bryton McClure (1990–1997).

Richard "Richie" Crawford was the only son of Robert and Rachel Crawford; Robert dies before Richie was born, which in part prompts Rachel's move into the Winslow household. There, Carl effectively fills the "father" role left vacant by Robert's death. Richie is almost a year old in the show's first season and was age-advanced to 3-years-old in beginning with the season two premiere "Rachel's Place". He is a typical mischievous child and even idolizes Steve; in fact, due to the nerd's constant visits and unrelenting crush on Laura, Richie calls him "Uncle Steve". In later episodes, Richie becomes the friend to a young orphan named 3J (whom the Winslows eventually adopt). His final appearance in the series was in the Christmas-themed episode "Deck the Malls" from the ninth season.

Played by Orlando Brown (1996–1998).

3J – a nickname referring to his real name Jerry Jamal Jameson – was a young orphan whom Carl and Harriette adopted in the season eight episode "3J in the House". He was introduced as Urkel's "Little Brother" (in the season seven episode "My Big Brother," which pays homage to the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America program) and later becomes friends with Richie.[8] His street-wise, smart-mouthed demeanor is a cover for his loneliness and desire to have a stable, permanent family; his birth mother had given him up for adoption shortly after he was born and frequently moved around. He was living with his aunt for a time until he was placed in a children's shelter, when she could no longer afford to keep him. The Winslows, seeing that he needed love, decide to adopt him. It is revealed in the episode "Whose Man is it Anyway?," that his mother is a waitress and Carl took him there (not realising the connection) for lunch and that one day she would like to reunite with him but until then, Carl promises to take care of him and would remain keeping in contact with her.

Played by Shawn Harrison (1990–1996; 1997).

For most of the time that Waldo was featured on the show, he was a friend of Eddie Winslow (the son of the show's main characters, Carl and Harriette Winslow) and the Winslows' quintessential nerdy neighbor, Steve Urkel. When he was introduced in the season two episode "Requiem for an Urkel," he started off as Willie Fuffner's friend but though he generally had no ill intent and was not quite the bully that Willie was, he still nonetheless ignorantly followed Willie's lead. The two got arrested for bringing alcohol to a party in "Life of the Party," and Waldo presumably ended their friendship afterwards out of guilt for nearly endangering Urkel. His character was rewritten as a good guy and to serve as a friend of Eddie's. Like Steve Urkel (the show's most famous character), Waldo was an outlandish, almost surrealistic person. While Steve was the resident nerd, Waldo was the resident idiot. Waldo eventually reached a point in his lack of intelligence to where he even manages to annoy Steve. In the season three episode "Food, Lies and Videotape," Waldo was discovered to be an excellent chef. It is later revealed that Waldo did not learn how to walk, until he was 10. He dated Laura's best friend Maxine for many seasons (beginning with the season four episode "Pulling Teeth") until breaking up with her in season eight's "Love Triangle" after he left for culinary school (In real life, the actor who plays Waldo said his contract expired).[9] He is also mentioned to have a sister named Quesadilla. Waldo says when asked why his sister was given that name that it was because she was born at a Taco Bell and his parents weighed over naming her either Quesadilla or Burrito Grande ("And that's a stupid name!" as he quipped regarding the latter). His extended family includes cousins such as American Gladiator Sabre (who, as a favor to settle a dispute between Carl and Steve, got them to compete against each other on the show), a short-statured but good-natured cousin named Babalabadingdong (whom he'd set Laura up with on a blind date), one of the members of the R&B group Portrait (who'd made Waldo promise to not reveal that they were related when the group was performing at a school dance), his aunt Bababababara-Ann (Babalabadingdong's mother), His aunt Velveeta and her husband, Jalapeño and another uncle whose head is in a jar in a science lab at Harvard University.

Waldo's most famous trait was his dimwittedness and his uncanny ability to misinterpret a simple question, comment or directive. His catchphrases include: "coo" (cool), "no prob, Bob!" and "sup". Waldo has also shown that he has a sense of morality in three key episodes. In season three's "A Test of Friendship," he comes to Steve's defense by calling Eddie out for wanting to cheat on their chemistry test and tells him that he should have known the consequences. In season seven's "Talk's Cheap," Waldo revealed he was the one who called a daytime talk show that Eddie, Steve, Myra, Laura, Myrtle and Stefan appear as guests on in that episode and brought everyone back to their senses with Stefan's help. In "Tips For A Better Life," he refused to let Eddie move into his house after he hurt his feelings by insulting him while he was drunk. Waldo mentions that anyone who drinks and insults friends is no friend of his, though in true Waldo fashion he was most angered that Eddie's drunken slam that Waldo would win the gold medal "at the Stupid Olympics" referred to an event that didn't exist.

Played by Michelle Thomas (1993–1998).

Myra Monkhouse was introduced midway through the fourth season in "A Thought in the Dark" as a possible girlfriend for Steve. She was the cousin of Laura's then-boyfriend, Ted Curran, who set up the date to get nerdy Steve out of his way. Myra was originally intended to be a one-time character (as Steve had been envisioned as when he was introduced in season one) but ultimately became a recurring character in the series. Although Ted was dropped from the show after the season four episode "Heart Strings" and ultimately never referred to again, Myra would become a regular character throughout the rest of the series starting in season six.

Myra is an attractive girl who is attracted to nerdy boys and polka music. She has a very perky and persistent personality. In the season five episode "A Matter of Principle," Myra transferred to Vanderbilt High School to be closer to whom she affectionately calls her "Stevie-kins". Steve is also attracted to Myra but he never grew to love her over the course of the show. He only agrees to date her, on the condition that his friendship with Laura remain intact. This frequently causes Myra to feel in competition with Laura for Steve's affections; Laura would often try to correct the misunderstanding but Myra would only become more convinced that Laura was after Steve. However, since Laura does not really show any attraction for Steve, Myra is willing to accept a truce, although the Laura-Myra relationship remains testy and adversarial, even in the most banal, non-Urkel situations.

After Steve decided to go steady with Myra in the season six episode "Paradise Bluff," Myra's character calmed and developed and she began to fit together more comfortably with the rest of the main characters. She became less persistent and less aggressive in clinging onto Steve, and Steve became more comfortable and welcoming with her. She became more friendly towards Laura and formed a trio of sorts with her and Steve (with herself in between, of course). She is also grouped together with Laura and Maxine.

In the ninth season, Steve and Myra grow apart. In "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do" from that season, she hated his makeover (which he did in that season's premiere episode "Out with the Old," in an attempt to become less grating to other people) and demanded him to change back to the nerd she loved so much. When Steve refused, Myra broke up with him right away. However, it only turned out to be a ploy and she only pretended to break up with him in order to get him to renounce his love for Laura and stay with her. That failed and Steve decides to start a real relationship with Laura. However, Myra never fully accepted the idea of their relationship being officially over. From here, Myra's character regressed and devolved to an antagonistic role, competing with Laura for Steve's affections and pursuing Steve relentlessly, similarly to her early appearance. When Steve asks Laura on a date and Laura accepts in "Crazy for You," she grows furious at her loss. Myra pairs up with Stefan Urquelle (Jaleel White) and both set out to win them back. Although both were successful in stopping it in the following episode "Crazier For You," Stefan soon felt guilty of trying to break Steve and Laura up and decides to leave them alone. However, Myra continues to try multiple times, including spying on Steve, until he learned the truth and ordered her to renounce her love for him. She refused and he had Myra arrested by the end of that episode when he exposed her for stalking him with illegal spy gear in her room to the police. At the time of the show's series finale "Lost in Space," Steve and Laura were officially engaged to be married. When Myra learned about their engagement, she was furious and continued to carry the torch for him as he drifted off into outer space. It is unknown what happened to her after that.

The actress who played Myra, Michelle Thomas, fell ill with cancer in August 1997, and died in December 1998. This limited her screentime as Myra in the final seasons of the show.