Biography

Before auditioning for Steve Urkel on La vie de famille (1989), he was looking for the classic nerd glasses (black, thin, with tape around the center) but had no luck. His father, a dentist, tossed him the glasses that he used to keep particles out of his eyes. Jaleel just figured that he would find different glasses at another time. The crew loved the look, so he kept them.

Originally, his character on La vie de famille (1989) was supposed to be a guest-star, but proved to be so popular that he stayed on as a regular.

He has played the same character (Steven "Steve" Urkel) in four different television series: La fête à la maison (1987), La vie de famille (1989), Notre belle famille (1991) and Meego (1997).

After shooting his first scene as Steve Urkel on La vie de famille (1989), 50 frat boys in the audience started chanting, "Urkel! Urkel! Urkel!" It was then that the show's producers realized how gifted he was.

Regularly played basketball against George Clooney while each was on their respective TV series, La vie de famille (1989) and Urgences (1994), which were on nearby sets.

The conventions of an almighty agency tapping you for greatness and signing you up and telling you this is going to be the next big thing; that has not been my career.

You need fans in high places, I always tell people. I don't care how talented you are.

You have to be respectful of pop culture, because people interpret it in the way they want.

Writing is still on my slate.

I've been in this business 31 years. I've never had a movie deal.