Home Improvement star Patricia Richardson has changed so much since her days on the Emmy-winning show, which ran for eight seasons and cemented itself as one of the defining sitcoms of the ’90s.
The 74-year-old looked unrecognizable in the candid pictures from December, which resurfaced a day after news broke that she would be reuniting with her onscreen husband, Tim Allen, for a special appearance on his latest show, Shifting Gears.
Comeback queen
Patricia was glowing as she went to get groceries, clad in a pair of blue jeans, a black sweater, and a patterned blazer.
She added black sneakers and large sunglasses, and wore a black cap over her silvery hair as she strolled out of the store with a pack of Diet Coke.
The actress portrayed Jill Taylor on the sitcom from 1991 to 1999, and will stage a comeback by reuniting with Tim and their co-stars Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning on season two of Shifting Gears.
© GC Images“Worlds are colliding!” read a post from the official Shifting Gears Instagram account, following the announcement from Deadline.
While it is unlikely that the trio will reprise their original roles, as Tim is helming a completely different series, the outlet did hint that Patricia, Richard and Debbe will be supporting his character “in an unexpected way”.
© Disney General Entertainment ConThe show follows Tim as the widowed owner of a car restoration shop, who grows closer to his estranged daughter, played by Kat Dennings.
Patricia previously reunited with Tim in 2015 in his previous series, Last Man Standing, where she portrayed his next door neighbor, Helen Potts, in two episodes.
Onscreen icon
© Disney General Entertainment ConPatricia was an integral part of Home Improvement and a fierce presence both onscreen and behind the scenes.
“Pat made it the comedy that we hoped it would be. It was unbelievable what she did. I mean, it made the show work,” said Carmen Finestra, co-creator and executive producer, to the Los Angeles Times.
© Disney General Entertainment Con“Pat was the only woman down on that set almost all of the time, and I was very often the only woman writer in the room,” added writer and co-executive producer Rosalind Moore.
“When she was surrounded by all that testosterone, she would still hold her ground. There were times when she said, ‘You know what? I have three kids. I wouldn’t say this to my children.’ And she was always right. She always made it better.”
Saying goodbye
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyDespite being nominated four times for an Emmy Award thanks to her stellar performance on the show, Patricia decided to leave after the eighth season to be more present for her family.
She reportedly turned down $30 million to appear on another season, yet shared with Closer Weekly that she had no regrets.
“Home Improvement had much longer days than most sitcoms. Because I was involved in all the writing, I was away from them more than I wanted and felt I missed so many things,” she explained.
© Getty ImagesShe was a single mother, having been married to actor Ray Baker from 1982 to 1995. The couple had welcomed kids Roxanne, Joseph and Henry before their split.
Since leaving the hit show, Patricia has found steady work in Hollywood. She acted in Strong Medicine, The West Wing, and more recently in NCIS and Grey’s Anatomy.
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