![]() ![]() Though people recognize her now for her current role, to fans of Good Times, both the ones who watched it back in the day and younger ones who've discovered it on Peacock, where all six seasons currently stream, she'll always be Thelma Evans. Since 2022, she's played Nee Nee Duncan on BET's crime-drama series The Family Business. RELATED: 'Good Times' ' John Amos Makes Surprise Appearance on 'Live in Front of a Studio Audience ' SpecialĪfter the series ended in 1979, Stanis continued to work steadily in television, film and stage, appearing on shows like The Cosby Show and Girlfriends. They were just regular, wonderful people," she shares. My mother and myself and my daughters, we would go over to their mom's house, and we would play Uno. "We met all of the Jacksons and they all were like that. It was amazing."Ī Brooklyn native who studied at Juilliard, Stanis says her working relationship with Janet led to a personal relationship with both her co-star and her famous family. But I'm just saying, to come from a family that was so wonderful and big in the world and to have such a humble little spirit, it's amazing. She was sweet as pie, still sweet as pie. "She was a delight to work with," she says of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. Stanis, who was also a big hit with viewers (to her young male fans in the '70s, she was the Black Farrah Fawcett), remembers being impressed by Janet's work ethic. "In other words, 'I hired her because she was a Jackson, but I really hired her because she was a good actress.'"ĬBS/Getty Jackson (left) and Ja'Net DuBois on Good Times in 1977. "One of the things that Norman said about her character, he said, 'I didn't hire her because she was just a Jackson,'" Stanis says. The guys had already racked up a string of hits beginning in 1969 as The Jackson 5 and, later, as The Jacksons. RELATED: Janet Jackson Says Son Eissa Doesn't Know Mom Is Famous, But Friends Are 'Putting It Together'Īt the time, Jackson, who would go on to land other co-starring roles on the TV series Diff'rent Strokes and Fame, was best known as the baby sister of Michael Jackson and his brothers. On the show, Penny ended up getting adopted by the Evanses' neighbor Willona Wood ( Ja'Net DuBois) and developed a puppy crush on Thelma's brother J.J. ![]() No, mommy,' I said, 'Oh babe, don't say that.' My tears. I just love the way little Janet handled that. ![]() "To this very day, when I see that scene, I get goosebumps. "The world had never seen anything like that," Stanis says. ![]()
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