‘90s TV Mom, 74, Looks Nearly Unrecognizable in Resurfaced Instagram Photo originally appeared on Parade.
She ruled ‘90s primetime as TV mom Jill Taylor on Home Improvement, and now Patricia Richardson is turning heads again thanks to a rare selfie that’s catching attention online.
The photo, originally shared in February, is recirculating thanks to fans rediscovering the post.
At 74, Richardson looks casually chic in a black button-down shirt, but it’s her hair transformation that’s stealing the spotlight. She’s traded her signature brunette style for silver-gray waves, and fans are loving the look.
“Beautiful. I can’t wait for grey hair,” one Instagram user wrote in the comments section of the February 25 post.
Another added, “Patricia you are just as beautiful as you were when you did Home Improvement.”
Richardson became a household name in the ‘90s, opposite Tim Allen on ABC’s hit sitcom, but many fans may not know she was cast at the last minute, replacing actress Frances Fisher after test audiences found the original dynamic too harsh.
“Frances is a very good actress, and her character was upset,” Carmen Finestra, co-creator and executive producer of Home Improvement, told the Los Angeles Times in March 2024. “But the audience was thinking, ‘This guy is a brute.’ You’re not going to feel very sympathetic toward the male character if you feel like he’s abusive. Pat made it the comedy that we hoped it would be. It was unbelievable what she did. I mean, it made the show work.”
Richardson previously told The Times that she never wanted to “play the thankless wife,” and she stood her ground amid a room full of male writers.
“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,” writer and co-executive producer Rosalind Moore said. “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.”
While several other hit shows from the ‘90s have seen a resurgence, Home Improvement hasn’t been one of them, something Richardson blamed on Hollywood “not liking” Tim Allen’s politics. It hasn’t put a dent in her pride, though.
“I’m really proud of what it meant to our audience,” Richardson explained. “I don’t care what anybody says, I’m proud of the legacy.”
‘90s TV Mom, 74, Looks Nearly Unrecognizable in Resurfaced Instagram Photo first appeared on Parade on Aug 2, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Aug 2, 2025, where it first appeared.