Louise Jefferson
Encyclopedia
Louise Jefferson was a supporting character
Supporting character
A supporting character is a character of a book, play, video game, movie, television or radio show or other form of storytelling usually used to give added dimension to a main character, by adding a relationship with this character...

, portrayed by Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...

-winning actress Isabel Sanford
Isabel Sanford
Isabel Sanford was an American actress best known for her role as Louise "Weezy" Jefferson on the CBS television sitcoms All in the Family and The Jeffersons .-Career:...

, who appeared first on the television series All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

. She later became one of the main characters in its spinoff
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...

 series, The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...

. Her role lasted from 1971 to 1985, from her debut on All in the Family through the final episode of The Jeffersons. She was often referred to as "Weezie" by her on-screen husband, George Jefferson
George Jefferson
George Jefferson is a fictional character played by Sherman Hemsley in American television sitcoms All in the Family and its spin-off The Jeffersons...

. She was first introduced on All in the Family as a neighbor of Archie
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...

 and Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on All in the Family , played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker , mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and, after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic...

. Sanford is one of the two actors to have appeared in all 253 episodes of the series.

Louise was similar in many respects to the character Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker
Edith Bunker is a fictional 1970s sitcom character on All in the Family , played by Jean Stapleton. She was the wife of Archie Bunker , mother of Gloria Stivic, mother-in-law of Michael "Meathead" Stivic, and, after 1975, grandmother of Joey Stivic...

 in All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

. Both were kind-hearted and had hot-headed husbands, and they were both good friends; however, Louise was not nearly as naïve as Edith. Prior to George Jefferson's first appearance on All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

, Louise had to contend with the arguments between Henry Jefferson
Henry Jefferson
Henry Jefferson is a fictional character, the brother of George Jefferson from the TV series All in the Family. He lived with George, his sister-in-law Louise, their son Lionel, and Lionel's aunt , who was referenced in one episode but never seen. He was thus a neighbor to Archie Bunker...

, George's brother, and Archie Bunker
Archie Bunker
Archibald "Archie" Bunker is a fictional New Yorker in the 1970s top-rated American television sitcom All in the Family and its spin-off Archie Bunker's Place, played to acclaim by Carroll O'Connor. Bunker is a veteran of World War II, reactionary, bigoted, conservative, blue-collar worker, and...

. While Louise recognized that Archie displayed some ignorance and bullheadedness, she saw similar traits in the Jefferson men. When Edith apologized for a poor attitude of Archie's, Louise remarked "Henry is no diplomat either". Unlike George and Henry, Louise was more favorably disposed to Archie Bunker, having visiting him when he had been hospitalized, and fondly remembering Archie during an episode of The Jeffersons when there was a flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...

 to All in the Family.

In the first few seasons of The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...

, Louise dealt with insulting remarks from Mother Jefferson, George's mother. She was a calming influence in the household compared to George's temper tantrums and over-inflated ego. She was friends with Tom and Helen Willis, an interracial couple.

In the first episode of The Jeffersons, George insisted on hiring a maid. Both George and Louise grew up in poverty, and Louise felt it was not necessary to hire a maid. George won out and Florence Johnston (Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs
Marla Gibbs is an American television and film actress and singer. She is best remembered for playing Louise and George Jefferson's sarcastic maid, Florence Johnston, on The Jeffersons and spinoff Checking In...

) was hired a few days a week. Over time, the role of Florence expanded and she became a live-in maid. Louise and Florence became great friends over the years while Florence and George often argued.

Louise grew up in Harlem, New York. She had only a limited memory of her father and was always of the belief that he had died when she was very young. In a memorable episode, however, George meets a man at a news stand whom he suspects of being Louise's father. At first, the man denies his identity, saying that George is mistaken. But later, he acknowledges that he is Louise's father and decides to show up to see her. In the meantime, though, George has discovered that for Louise, finding out that her father is actually alive would not be good news. His being alive and well would mean that her father had willingly chosen to abandon her as a child, and that is a thought which she cannot bear. When her father does come to the Jeffersons' apartment, he is able to receive the satisfaction of seeing how his daughter turned out, but at George's insistence, he spares her feelings when he is introduced to her, by reverting to his original story: that George was mistaken in believing that he was Louise's father. However, in other episodes, Louise's father is portrayed as having been more involved with her. In "Louise's New Interest", she talks about her father giving her a Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...

 doll when he couldn't find a black one for her.

Louise also had a sister, Maxine, whom she was in constant rivals with growing up. Growing up, Louise believed that her mother favored Maxine, but it wasn't until Louise's wedding day that her mother told Louise that she was the better of the two. In her teen years, Maxine had run away from home, leaving Louise to care for their mother, causing more resentment of Maxine from Louise. In one episode of the show, George arranges for Maxine to return to New York from Paris as a surprise birthday present for Louise, only to learn that Louise hated her. During this episode, it was revealed that Maxine left home because she was pregnant, and, as a result, she introduced her son to the family. When Louise learned of this, she forgave her sister and they mended their feud. One episode of All in the Family
All in the Family
All in the Family is an American sitcom that was originally broadcast on the CBS television network from January 12, 1971, to April 8, 1979. In September 1979, a new show, Archie Bunker's Place, picked up where All in the Family had ended...

mention is made of George Jefferson's brother-in-law who, like Archie Bunker, had fallen for a scam.

Louise also had a niece named Julie Williams (Lynne Moody
Lynne Moody
Lynne Moody is an American actress who has made many appearances in television.Her most prominent roles include Tracy Curtis Taylor in That's My Mama from 1974–1975 and was replaced by Joan Pringle in the second season; she also played Irene Harvey in Roots, Polly Dawson in Soap, Nurse Julie...

), a nurse who lived in Chicago (on the short-lived series E/R
E/R
E/R is an American television sitcom that aired in 1984 and 1985. Developed from a successful play of the same name, the series was produced by Embassy Television and lasted a single season.-Synopsis:...

).

In a season five episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...

, Isabel Sanford and Sherman Hemsley
Sherman Hemsley
Sherman Alexander Hemsley is an American actor, most famous for his role as George Jefferson on the CBS television series All in the Family and The Jeffersons, and as Deacon Ernest Frye on the NBC series Amen. He also played Earl Sinclair's horrifying boss, a Triceratops named B.P...

reprise their roles as Louise and George, respectively. In one scene, Louise attacks George for calling her "Weezy" because she's sensitive about her asthma. That fact was never addressed in the show's 11-year run.
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