The Mom From Home Improvement Is Almost Unrecognizable Today

It was the decade of iconic haircuts like The Rachel and fun, grungy makeup trends that we're hoping make comebacks soon. And if you were a TV watcher, Tuesday night in the 1990s meant you were likely sitting in front of ABC's top-rated comedy, "Home Improvement." The show, which ran from 1991 to 1999, followed the lives of the Taylor family, helmed by dad Tim (played by Tim Allen), who starred in a home-improvement show called "Tool Time" on TV (a show within a show, basically). His "Tool Time" antics bled into his home life with his wife, Jill, and their three sons. There was also the sage neighbor over the fence, Wilson (played by Earl Hindman), and Tim's "Tool Time" sidekick Al (played by Richard Karn), who loved to dryly say, "I don't think so, Tim." Pamela Anderson even had a role as Lisa, who introduced the live audience to the show by saying, "Does everybody know what time it is?" 

The heart of the show, though, was the family's home life, with mom Jill Taylor at the center of it. Played by Patricia Richardson, she dealt with a challenging husband and three rambunctious sons with humor and compassion. Unlike other popular characters of the '90s, Jill wasn't instigating fashion and beauty trends like the cast members of "Friends," "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," or "Beverly Hills, 90210." No, Jill stuck to outfit staples like button-up shirts, mom jeans, vests, and unshapely sweaters over leggings. Throughout the series' eight seasons, Richardson's hair varied from a lob with bangs that looked like they were blow-dried with a round brush to a short, curly bob, and her makeup was always conservative and not particularly noteworthy. Now, fast-forward more than 25 years, and Richardson is almost unrecognizable with barely a trace of Jill Taylor left.

There seems to be three avenues to take when it comes to aging in Hollywood: Do a ton of work on your face for a major transformation like Lauren Sánchez, do more natural-looking injectable tweakments that are popular among Gen Z, or embrace aging as it comes to you. Patricia Richardson, who gained fame as the mom from "Home Improvement," seems to be doing the latter. Let's start with her hair. It's definitely come a long way from her Jill Taylor days. She's one of the celebrities who proudly show off their gray hair, and she's embraced her locks as they've turned a beautiful white. She clearly takes good care of it, as evidenced by its thickness, its shine, and the fact that she can wear it long because it appears to have very little damage. And her bangs, worn straight and with more of a curtain style, are a marked improvement from Jill's dated ones from the '90s.

We also give her props for her black glasses. They give her face dimension and depth, offering a contrast between her hair color and skin tone. The square shape with a slight cat-eye brings everything upward, giving the effect of an eye lift. Like her "Home Improvement" character, fashion doesn't appear to be Richardson's thing. It looks like she chooses what's comfortable rather than aiming to look trendy and not herself, and it works well.

A look at her socials tells us that Richardson is much more concerned with sharing her political views than putting a lot of effort into red-carpet appearances or GRWMs. Richardson is definitely not opposed to using her voice for what she stands for. In fact, one reason that "Home Improvement" didn't extend beyond the eighth season in 1999 was pay disparity. The heads at ABC wouldn't pay her the same amount they paid Tim Allen, who played her husband. She also cited the need to spend more time with her three real-life children. Regardless, she left her mark on popular culture in the '90s and is remembered as one of the best TV moms of the decade.