Myra Monkhouse

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Myra Monkhouse
First appearance	A Thought in the Dark
Last appearance	Lost In Space
Portrayed by	Michelle Thomas
Information
Species	Human
Gender	Female
Date of birth	c. 1976
Relatives	Mr. Monkhouse (father, not seen) Mrs. Monkhouse (mother)
Address	Chicago, Illinois
Nationality	African-American

Myra Monkhouse is a fictional supporting character on the sitcom, Family Matters. She was portrayed by Michelle Thomas from 1993 until the show's ending in 1998.

[edit] Character background

Myra was introduced during the show's fourth season as a potential love interest for Steve Urkel. At the time, the object of Steve's affections, Laura Winslow, was dating Ted Curran (Patrick J. Dancy). Much to Ted's dismay, Urkel was constantly putting himself between them, going as far as donning disguises, so that he could "chaperone" their dates. Laura thought that they needed to find another girl to occupy Urkel's time, but admittedly couldn't think of one who would "give him the time of day". Ted realized that his cousin, Myra, liked brainy guys, and suggested that they set her up with Steve in an attempt to get him out of the way. Steve reluctantly accepted what he assumed would be a dull blind date, but was pleasantly surprised to find that Myra was as beautiful as she was intelligent.

As their relationship progresses, Myra becomes obsessed with Urkel, and develops a rivalry with Laura. Often, Myra would be very jealous of Laura, and accuse her (inaccurately) of scheming to take her "Stevie-kins" away from her. Laura, however, thought of the accusations as annoying, and tried -— not always successfully -— to ignore them.

During their relationship, Myra often demanded full loyalty from Urkel; in turn, he tried to stay true to Myra, despite his still often overwhelming feelings for Laura. She also became upset when Urkel turned himself into Stefan Urquelle via a "transformation chamber" (in his bid to win Laura's heart). At one point, she accidentally locks Carl Winslow in the transformation chamber, turning him into an "Urkel-clone". Despite her faults, Myra tried very hard to please Urkel and others, including the Winslows.

By the last season, with Laura finally realizing that she has feelings for Urkel, Urkel finally breaks off his relationship with Myra, as he and Laura consummate a "boyfriend/girlfriend" relationship. Myra does not take this well, and begins stalking Urkel, going so far as to install a special device in Urkel's eyeglasses that allows her to track his every move, then dresses up as Laura. Urkel eventually finds out, is outraged, and demands that she leave him alone. Myra does (during this same time, Michelle Thomas took a leave of absence from the series) but makes one last bid for the object of her affection when (after learning Urkel's life is endangered during a space-walk) she poses as his fiancé during a news broadcast.