Queen Latifah And 19 Other Sitcom Stars Who Appeared On Other Sitcoms First
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I watch a lot of TV, and I probably rewatch even more.
NBC / Via giphy.com
I like having sitcoms on as background noise, and the more of them I watch, the more I notice major actors in small roles here and there.
Sony Pictures Releasing / Via giphy.com
Here are 20 actors who appeared on sitcoms before starring in their own:
1.Erika Alexander
Plenty of Living Single fans probably recognized Alexander, who played Maxine, from The Cosby Show — she had a recurring role as Clair's cousin Pam from 1990–1992.
Here she is on The Cosby Show:
2.Tatyana Ali
Ali was only 11 when she began playing Ashley on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but by then she already had a few credits to her name, including a 1989 episode of The Cosby Show.
Here she is on The Cosby Show:
3.Jennifer Aniston
Aniston probably breathed a sigh of relief when Friends became the smash it did — or at least when it made it past Season 1. Before playing Rachel, she starred in Molloy, which was canceled before airing all of its 10 episodes in 1990, and later that same year as Jeannie on the Ferris Bueller TV show, which was also swiftly canceled after just a season.
Here she is on Ferris Bueller:
4.Margaret Cho
It might surprise you to learn that Cho had her own sitcom, in which she played a character also named Margaret. All-American Girl ran briefly from 1994–1995, and before that, she had a small role on an episode of the Golden Girls spinoff, The Golden Palace, in 1992. She also did some voicework on a 1994 episode of The Critic.
Here she is on The Golden Palace:
5.Courteney Cox
One of Cox's earliest roles was as Amy on an episode of The Love Boat in 1986, and she spent the next couple of years guest-starring on Family Ties as Lauren from 1987–1989. Her last role before starring as Monica in Friends was as Jerry's girlfriend Meryl on a 1994 episode of Seinfeld.
6.Kim Fields
Living Single star, Fields' filmography is full of sitcoms. Her first-ever onscreen role was playing Angie on the 1977 series, Baby...I'm Back!, followed by small roles on Good Times and Mork & Mindy. From 1979–1988 she played Tootie on Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life. She later appeared on Martin in 1992 and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1993 before playing Regine on Living Single.
Here she is on Baby...I'm Back!:
7.Jenna Fischer
Before handling reception at Dunder Mifflin as Pam on The Office, Fischer appeared in a handful of other sitcoms. One of her first onscreen roles was as a waitress on Spin City in 2001. She also appeared on Undeclared that year, What I Like About You in 2002, and That '70s Show in 2005.
Here she is on Undeclared:
8.Peri Gilpin
Not only did Gilpin appear on sitcoms before Frasier, she actually played three different characters in the Frasierverse. Prior to playing Roz, she popped up as Barbara on a 1992 episode of Wings and as Holly on a 1993 episode of Cheers.
Here she is on Wings:
9.Kelsey Grammer
It's hard to imagine a time before the name Kelsey Grammer was synonymous with Frasier Crane, but just months before making his debut on Cheers, Grammer appeared in the pilot of Kate & Allie as David (who goes out with both Kate and Allie).
10.Lisa Kudrow
Cheers and Newhart fans might remember that Kudrow appeared on both shows a few years before playing Phoebe on Friends. She played Emily in a 1989 episode of Cheers (her third onscreen role ever) and Sada on a 1990 episode of Newhart.
Here she is on Cheers:
11.Queen Latifah
Prior to starring as Khadijah on Living Single, Latifah made her TV debut as Marissa on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1991. (She actually played another character on the show that same year in the following season.)
Here she is on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air:
12.Matt LeBlanc
LeBlanc appeared on a few different sitcoms prior to playing Joey on Friends. He made his TV debut in Just the Ten of Us in 1989, then went on to play Vinnie, one of Kelly's boyfriends in Married... with Children in 1991. That same year he reprised the character on the spinoff Top of the Heap, which was reworked into Vinnie & Bobby the following year. Neither show lasted past seven episodes.
Here he is on Married... with Children:
13.Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Speaking of Seinfeld, one of Julia Louis-Dreyfus's first roles was as Susan "Raindrop" White Esq. on a 1988 episode of Family Ties. Shortly after, she starred as Eileen on the two-season NBC sitcom, Day by Day, before shifting over to play Elaine on Seinfeld.
Here she is on Family Ties:
14.John Mahoney
The late Mahoney guest-starred on a 1992 episode of Cheers before going on to play Martin on Frasier.
Here he is on Cheers:
15.Debra Messing
Messing popped up on an episode of the short-lived series, Partners, in 1995 and guest-starred on Seinfeld in 1996 and 1997, as Beth (a woman Jerry pursues a couple of times before realizing she's racist and antisemitic), before starring as Grace on Will & Grace.
Here she is on Seinfeld:
16.Megan Mullally
Messing isn't the only Will & Grace star who appeared on Seinfeld — Mullally played Betsy, one of George's girlfriends, in 1993.
She also appeared on Wings in 1990, when she played Joe's date, Cindy (whose voice is hilariously un-Karen Walker-like), plus episodes of Frasier, Mad About You, Caroline in the City in 1997, and Just Shoot Me in 1998 prior to making her debut as Karen.
(Will & Grace isn't technically the first sitcom Mullally starred in. From 1986–1987 she played Ellen Burstyn's daughter in The Ellen Burstyn Show, which ran for a sole 13-episode season.)
Here she is on Wings:
17.Randall Park
Park appeared in quite a few sitcoms before starring as Louis on Fresh Off the Boat, including Reno 911! in 2003, Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2009, Community in 2010 (and again in 2015), New Girl and The Office in 2012, and The Mindy Project in 2013 and 2014. He also had a recurring role on Supah Ninjas from 2011–2013.
18.Matthew Perry
Before playing Chandler on Friends, Perry played a brief rival of Ricky's on a 1986 episode of Silver Spoons. He also appeared on Charles in Charge the year before that and later showed up on Growing Pains in 1989 and Who's the Boss? in 1990.
Here he is on Silver Spoons:
19.Alfonso Ribeiro
Ribeiro is best known for playing Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but before that, he had a recurring role as Alfonso Spears on Silver Spoons from 1984–1987 and appeared as Zach in a 1990 episode of A Different World just months before Fresh Prince began.
20.David Schwimmer
A year before starring as Ross in Friends, Schwimmer appeared as Sonny, Six's shady boyfriend, on two episodes of Blossom in 1993. He also played the son of Henry Winkler's character on the short-lived sitcom, Monty.
Here he is on Blossom:
