When Marla Gibbs first appeared as Florence, she was a one-off joke: a mouthy maid with no filter. But within one week of her debut, the studio was flooded with fan letters.
Audiences loved her brutal honesty, side-eye humor, and that signature “Mmm-hmm.” She stole scenes from George and Louise—and they knew it.
Writers scrambled to give her more lines. Then more episodes. By Season 3, Florence had her own arcs—and by Season 6, she nearly got her own spin-off (Checking In, which briefly aired).
Behind the scenes, Gibbs rewrote half her dialogue. “They wrote her soft,” she said. “I made her spicy.”
Florence became the one character who could roast George and still win the room. Fans related to her hustle, her pride, her heart.
She was never meant to last. But she became the soul of The Jeffersons.
