From her first television credit on Room 222 (in 1970) to her current double duty on General Hospital and Bob Hearts Abishola, Vernée Watson says one thing has served her very well — strong roots in theater. "It's basic training," she says of her early days studying at New York University and the American Place Theatre. "We had a great teacher, Al Fann, who showed us how to be professional, and the work ethic was really important."
As evidence of her own work ethic, the two-time Daytime Emmy winner (who now appears in the second season of Shrinking on AppleTV+), recalls highlights of her impressive, nonstop television career.
Welcome Back, Kotter: An afro and little hair barrettes helped Watson, then 27, land the role of highschooler Vernajean Williams during the ABC sitcom's first two years, 1975 and '76. And despite a swoon-worthy cast (including John Travolta in his breakout part), she took on the role of mother hen. "It was a lot of fooling around on set," she says. "From my New York discipline, I'm like, 'We got to get this work done!'"
Carter Country: Watson nabbed her first series-regular credit in this ABC sitcom (1977–79), which starred Victor French as a small-town police chief and Kene Holiday as a city-educated sergeant. Watson calls spirited secretary Lucille Banks her "Black Mary Tyler Moore character," noting it was typical of her roles: "I don't know why, but I always get that kind of sassy and quick-witted character."
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air: Around the world, fans still stop Watson because they remember her as Will Smith's headstrong mother, Viola "Vy" Smith, on this NBC sitcom from 1990 to '95. She and Smith differed when it came to rehearsing. "He knew his lines, but he didn't like to rehearse off-camera," she recalls. In the long run, though, she says their scenes worked "because one-on-one, he was a very warm person, and he would respond to what I was playing." Watson also appeared once last year on the Peacock reboot, Bel-Air.
Sister, Sister: In 1996 and '97, Watson appeared in five episodes of this WB show as Patrice, best friend to Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry-Housely's adoptive mother, Lisa (Jackée Harry). She and Harry would "scream and holler," onscreen and off. Watson recalls that a personal issue led her to change her look: "My mother had passed away, so I was going through some transitions emotionally, and I changed my hairdo. She would’ve never stood for me locking my hair!"
Two and a Half Men: Watson has a long history on Chuck Lorre shows, starting with Grace Under Fire in 1993 and including this Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer hit on CBS. She appeared four times between 2004 and 2015 but never as the same character (though often as a nurse). Did they think astute viewers wouldn't notice? "I asked Chuck about that. He'd say, 'Aw, who cares? You're still a nurse!'" she says with a laugh.
The Big Bang Theory: Holding the rare distinction of appearing in both the unaired and the retooled pilots of this Lorre hit on CBS, Watson played humorless nurse Althea in four additional episodes, from 2008 to 2016. Her favorite? In "The Robotic Manipulation" (2010), science nerd Howard Wolowitz (Simon Helberg) comes into the ER with a mechanical hand stuck, um, down there. "I ask, 'Where's the rest of the robot?' He says, 'Oh, I only made the arm.' So I say, ''Cause that's all you needed, huh?'"
General Hospital: Watson has popped up on a few daytime dramas over the years, but she relishes playing caring social worker Stella Henry, a woman who'd do anything for her family. Watson won Daytime Emmys in 2018 and 2019 for her work, which began on the ABC serial in 2017. "Acting aerobics!" she says of the soap's quick pace. "You don't really rehearse the scene, you just rehearse your blocking. It's 'Take the mask off, and let's go,' so you've got to be ready." This year, she received the Gold Circle honor at the 50th Daytime Emmy Awards for her work on GH.
Bob Hearts Abishola: It's no surprise, given her history with Lorre, that when Watson couldn't make it in to test for the role of compassionate nurse Gloria Tyler on this CBS series back in 2019, that didn't kill her chances of becoming a regular. She told the casting people, "Chuck knows my work, so give me the script, and I'll come in there ready," to which Lorre reportedly said, "Okay, she can do the table read. As a matter of fact, she got the part."
