Patricia Richardson, best known for her role as Jill Taylor in the 1990s sitcom Home Improvement, has sparked surprise with her transformed appearance in recent photographs. The 74-year-old actress was spotted running errands in December, wearing a casual outfit of blue jeans, a black sweater, a patterned blazer, black sneakers, large sunglasses, and a black cap over her silvery hair.
The sighting comes just after news broke that Richardson will reunite with her on-screen husband Tim Allen on his new show Shifting Gears. She will be joined by former co-stars Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning in the second season of the series, which follows Allen as a widowed car restoration shop owner. The official Shifting Gears Instagram account teased the reunion with the caption: 'Worlds are colliding!'
While it is unlikely the trio will reprise their original roles, Deadline hinted they will support Allen's character 'in an unexpected way'. Richardson previously reunited with Allen in 2015 on his series Last Man Standing, where she played his neighbour Helen Potts in two episodes.
Richardson portrayed Jill Taylor on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1999, earning four Emmy nominations for her performance. She left the show after eight seasons, turning down a reported $30 million offer to continue, in order to spend more time with her family. '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 told Closer Weekly.
Since leaving the hit show, Richardson has continued acting in series such as Strong Medicine, The West Wing, NCIS, and Grey's Anatomy. Co-creator Carmen Finestra praised her contribution to Home Improvement, saying: 'Pat made it the comedy that we hoped it would be. It was unbelievable what she did. I mean, it made the show work.'
