5. 1990s Jo Marie Payton
The woman who played the matriarch of the family, Harriette Winslow, was Jo Marie Payton. She was with the show for the first eight seasons, then left midway through the last one. The juiciest rumor was that she’d had enough of the Urkelization of the show. If that were true, she picked a silly time to throw a fit. That had been going on for years at that point. It’s more likely Payton hit a snag with her contract so she walked. Producers replaced her with actress Judyann Elder for the last few episodes.