Jillian "Jill" Patterson Taylor is a character in the TV sitcom ''

Home Improvement The concept of home improvement, home renovation or remodeling is the process of renovating, making improvements or making additions to one's home. Home improvement can consist of projects that upgrade an existing home interior (such as electr ...

'' played by

Patricia Richardson Patricia Castle Richardson (born February 23, 1951) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Jill Taylor on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Home Improvement (TV series), Home Improvement'', for which she was nominat ...

. Jill is Tim Taylor's wife. Jill and Tim raise their three sons (Brad, Randy, and Mark) together. Jill Taylor has appeared on critics' lists of "top TV" or "most memorable" moms. For this role, Richardson was nominated four times for

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s for Outstanding Lead Actress – Comedy Series and also received two nominations for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). It is given in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding perf ...

Development

The writers planned from the start that Tim Taylor's wife would have a strong voice.

Frances Fisher Frances Louise Fisher (born May 11, 1952) is an American actress. She began her career in theater and later starred as Detective Deborah Saxon in the CBS daytime soap opera ''The Edge of Night'' (1976–1981). In film, she is known for her rol ...

was originally cast in the role, but was released during final rehearsals for the pilot as the audience viewed her portrayal of Jill as "whiny and pleading."

was ultimately chosen as her replacement. Richardson had initially been reluctant to accept the role, concerned that Jill would be yet another "perfect" TV sitcom mother such as Clair Huxtable of ''

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

''. She was reassured after seeing some scripts and talking to the series' producers. Early in the show's run, Richardson said, "What I want for this character is for her to be imperfect. I want her to make mistakes. I want her to be the wrong one in the relationship. I want her to blow it with Tim, and be the one who has to be punished. Because that's what life is like."

Character biography

Background

Due to her father being in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, Jill and her four sisters grew up in a rigid environment. Jill and her siblings appear together in "Jill and Her Sisters" and "Taps".

Personality

It is established early in the series that Jill serves as the voice of reason for her husband and children. Jill is known for her

common sense Common sense () is "knowledge, judgement, and taste which is more or less universal and which is held more or less without reflection or argument". As such, it is often considered to represent the basic level of sound practical judgement or know ...

, but is also in-tune with her

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; she has been described as "the epitome of understanding".

College and career

Throughout the course of the series, Jill goes from being a stay at home mother to a career-focused working woman. Early in the series, Jill frequently has problems finding employment; in the pilot episode of the series, she is passed over for a job even though she thought she nailed the interview. She has a brief career as a researcher for a magazine but is laid off after 2 years at the beginning of season 4. This is the catalyst for her decision to enroll back in graduate school, majoring in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

Politics

Jill's

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

is emphasized throughout the series, especially in its latter seasons. She and Tim would sometimes argue about a man and woman's "place" in the

household A household consists of one or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is im ...

. Despite Tim's frequent reluctance to understand Jill's point of view, he usually tries to

compromise To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise means finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations fr ...

with her. It is also revealed in "Taps" that Jill is a Democrat. In other episodes, Jill mentions attending

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

rallies as a young woman without her father's knowledge. However, being the daughter of an Army father has influenced her personality somewhat. For example, in "Tanks for the Memories", she exhibits great skill in driving a

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

, despite the fact that she never drove a tank before.

Cultural impact

The relationship between Jill and Tim Taylor has been discussed in academic papers about feminism. In May 2012, Jill was one of the 12 moms chosen by users of

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on their list of "Mommy Dearest: The TV Moms You Love".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Jill Fictional characters from Michigan Fictional characters from Detroit Home Improvement characters Television characters introduced in 1991 American female characters in sitcoms