Although Roseanne rarely mention her specific age, Laurie Metcalf's iconic sitcom heroine Jackie Harris has gone through a lot of life stages between the two shows. Laurie Metcalf is one of the most celebrated comedic actors of her generation, with an Academy Award nomination and three Golden Globe nominations to her name. While she has impressed in everything from Lady Bird to Scream 2 to JFK, Metcalf’s four well-deserved Prime-time Emmy Awards highlight the most memorable role of her career.

Metcalf began playing Roseanne’s high-strung sister Jackie in 1988 and soon became the sitcom’s breakout star. Even among Roseanne’s death before The Conners began could have derailed Jackie's story, the tragedy instead offered Metcalf an opportunity to humanize a character who was previously known primarily for their over-the-top, goofy personality. Throughout Roseanne’s original run, its 2017 revival, and its spinoff The Conners, Metcalf consistently found the heart and humanity in Jackie’s ridiculous antics.

How Old Jackie Was In Roseanne

Jackie Is Three Years Younger Than Her Sister Roseanne

Jackie’s age is never directly stated in the original nine-season run of Roseanne, although it can be discerned from context. The Roseanne fandom Wiki lists Jackie’s birthdate as September 14, 1956, and this aligns closely with Metcalf’s own age when filming. Born in 1955, Metcalf was 33 when she began playing Jackie. Her co-star, Roseanne Barr, was born in 1952, making her three years older than Metcalf. Roseanne is canonically three years older than Jackie, meaning Jackie was around 32 years old when Roseanne began.

By the time season 9 wrapped up nine years later, Jackie was roughly 41 and Roseanne was around 44 years old. Of course, the infamous Roseanne season 9 complicates matters somewhat. While season 7’s new characters might be divisive, nothing in the spinoff’s final outing has earned as much opprobrium as this much-maligned outing. Roseanne season 9 inexplicably began with the Conner family winning over $100 million in the lottery and disregarding their working-class struggles overnight.

Both Metcalf and Barr were around three years younger than their respective characters.

The rest of season 9 was so zany, outlandish, and cartoonish that the show’s 2017 revival ended up retconning all its events. This means that Jackie’s 41st year, which saw her come out as gay and Roseanne on a train journey that was hijacked by terrorists, never happened. To complicate matters further, it is worth noting that Jackie’s marriage to Fred was also retconned, as was the existence of their son, Andy. This means that a good chunk of seasons 6, 7, and 8 can be disregarded alongside season 9, so viewers don’t necessarily know Jackie’s entire life story.

How Old Jackie Was In The Roseanne Revival

Jackie Is Around 60 Years Old In 2017’s Roseanne Revival

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By the time Roseanne returned in 2017, retconning the entirety of season 9 and great chunks of seasons 6-8 in the process, Jackie was around two decades older. Jackie is roughly 60 in Roseanne season 10, before The Conners season 1. As was the case in the original series, both Metcalf and Barr were around three years younger than their respective characters. The revival’s Jackie shared the character’s resilience, humor, and verve, but was a lot more cartoonish and absurd.

Roseanne’s death humanized Jackie, making her a more sympathetic and tragic figure.

This changed significantly with the death of Roseanne and the arrival of The Conners. There were a few Roseanne storylines that took Jackie seriously, including her devastating abusive relationship with Fisher. However, her character was broader, sillier, and more unhinged than the sardonic, cynical Roseanne. Roseanne’s death humanized Jackie, making her a more sympathetic and tragic figure. While The Conners centered Darlene as its stand-in for Roseanne after her death, the spinoff relied on Jackie to maintain an emotional link with the heroine of the original series.

How Old Is Jackie In The Conners

Jackie Is Around 67 By The Conners Season 7

Jackie is 61 in The Conners season 1 and, by season 7, she is approximately 67 years old. This explains why Jackie chose to retire instead of continuing to run the Lanford Lunchbox at the beginning of season 6, since she has spent decades working and has more than earned a break. Inevitably, Jackie’s advancing age did nothing to slow her down, and she soon started meddling in Louise’s school board campaign due to boredom.

Now, The Conners season 7 is giving Jackie her best arc in years as she returns to the police force. Goaded by a dismissive police officer played by Metcalf’s real-life daughter Zoe Perry, Jackie attempts to re the force in season 7 and brings her usual excessive brio to this challenge. Only time will tell if The Conners heroine is successful but, if Roseanne and its revival taught viewers anything, it is to never bet against Jackie Harris regardless of the odds stacked against her.

Source: Roseanne.fandom (Wiki)

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