I was obsessed with TGIF growing up—some of my favorite childhood memories are those cozy Friday nights, curled up with pizza, and watching my favorite shows with the family. They just don’t make TV like that anymore! This book brought all that nostalgia rushing back. I loved diving into Jaleel White’s journey, discovering the story behind the fame, and the iconic character we all adored. If you were a TGIF kid, this is a must-read!

If you're expecting "Growing Up Urkel" to evoke that unmistakable 90's feeling of its namesake "Family Matters" character Steve Urkel, you might want to change your expectations.

I can't help but think that at least part of the inspiration of Jaleel White's memoir "Growing Up Urkel" is to shake off the dust off the character he played for nine years and that came to define him for the rest of his adult life even as he tried to maintain an acting career once the hit series finally came to its close.

While there's definitely humor to be found in "Growing Up Urkel," there's little denying it contains an emotional edge from someone whose career never came close to equaling his childhood years playing a character initially intended for a one-off episode but who quickly became a fan favorite with his nasally voice, ever-present suspenders, coke bottle glasses, and social awkwardness.

The truth, if we're being honest, is that all you have to say is "Urkel" and anyone who was alive in the 90's will instantly smile.

Much to Jaleel White's dismay, saying "Jaleel White" may very well elicit a "Who?"

White was 12-years-old when he acquired the role of Steve Urkel. In "Growing Up Urkel," we get a sense of what it's like to be catapulted into the stratosphere of American pop culture and what it's like to be brought back down to earth nine-years-later as a young adult entering UCLA as an undergrad and facing a world that still sees him as that adorably nasally nerd.

There are times that "Growing Up Urkel" is insightful and emotionally engaging, White's obvious mixed emotions around his time as Urkel evident throughout the memoir. Where I struggled with "Growing Up Urkel," at times mightily, is in its tonal shifts and in the basic fact that for the most part I felt like I didn't know much more about Jaleel White by the end of "Growing Up Urkel" than when started it.

In some ways, "Growing Up Urkel" reminded me of Chris Kattan's memoir "Baby, Don't Hurt Me," a memoir that reflected on the comic's emotionally and physically chaotic years on "Saturday Night Live" and beyond. In my review of Kattan's book, I remarked similarly on the author's tonal shifts in the book and the surprisingly dark turn the book takes.

"Growing Up Urkel" never really turns dark, however, there's an underlying emotional edge to it that the narrative never fully leans into. At its best, "Growing Up Urkel" is an emotionally incisive exploration of what it's like when a former child star is no longer a child nor a true star. White would have, some might say, one more claim to fame when he would join "Dancing with the Stars," however, it's practically undeniable that his acting career peaked well before he was 21-years-old.

That has to it. In "Growing Up Urkel," it's obvious that it does.

To be fair, the now 47-year-old actor has consistently acted since those years and is, in fact, talented well beyond what was a gimmicky character that required more acting than one might think (Urkel and White were not synonymous).

The truth is that I wanted to experience more of Jaleel White in "Growing Up Urkel." I hesitate to even call it a memoir as the vast majority of the book deals with White's "Family Matter" years and then dealing with the emotional and practical baggage of having played a career-restricting character like Urkel. And while there's no denying Urkel has, in fact, restricted his career, it's equally true that he's continued to consistently act and is, at least according to public records, also successful financially and recently married. While we get a sense of White's parents, whom he largely credits for his ability to avoid many of the "child star" issues, we learn very little about them as is true most of White's life with the exception of those encounters he chooses to complain about here a lot. We briefly detour into the fact that during his "Dancing with the Stars" time he was struggling with the mother of his two-year-old daughter (who seems to be not much more than a narrative device here), however, at times it feels like "Growing Up Urkel" is more a child star tossing off his baggage than an actual memoir.

"Growing Up Urkel" is a decent enough exploration of the emotional life of a child star after childhood is over, though it never really lives into its full potential. For fans of "Family Matters," it's likely a must-read, however, I found myself reaching the end of "Growing Up Urkel" and asking myself "Who is Jaleel White?"

I love a good celebrity biography and White's story did not disappoint. I grew up watching White on TV, TGIF was a staple in our house hold. I love getting the chance to read about what was really going on behind the scenes and what the author really went through. A great read for any 90's kid!

I received a copy of the book "Growing Up Urkel" by Jaleel White, from NetGalley. Jaleel writes what is was like being a child actor who played a very famous role. He started out acting as a young child. When he turned 12 he got a role on tv. show called "Family Matters" the show had been on quite a few episodes when he was cast as Steve Urkel. It was only meant to be for an episode, but the viewers instantly liked this nerdy, clumsy boy who loved Laura. He was then cast for the whole nine seasons. He writes of the good and bad that came playing a loved character. From going through agents, to certain cast members who resented him. He also writes of his life after "Steve Urkel" Having to now audition for some roles. He writes an honest book about his life as a former child actor and his career over the years. I enjoyed reading his memoir.

This as enjoyable for the most part, of course, everyone wants to hear about the show, etc. but there were other items I would have liked to hear more about, i.e. the situation with his daughter because when he mentioned it while discussion DWTS, he said the situation with is ex negatively affected him and so I would have been interested to go back to how he handled it in the beginning and what happened after.. I'm not a hundred percent sure the stories about the two very controversial people needed to be included as I don't think it did anything for the story, maybe to show he was popular and knew them?

We grew up on TGIF shows, including Family Matters, and never would have guessed all the drama occurring behind the scenes of that show! White seems to be one of the few child stars who sidestepped some of the horror stories we hear about, whether self-inflicted or not. He talks of getting into show business, his climb, his personal failings, his family's attempt to navigate the fame that came along with his character's success, and his experiences after the show ended. There are racial issues integrated into the narrative, which are discussed both in a modern and historic (where we are now defining the 90s as historic...ugh) context. Fans of Family Matters will enjoy this glimpse into the shows "deleted scenes"...

I got a generic email from the Marketing Director saying, based on my previous reviews of celebrity memoirs from Simon & Schuster, I can get this one from Netgalley. I knew of Jaleel White, Urkel and his passion for basketball, but never paid attention to the show Family Matters.

Unlike other child actors, Jaleel never got in trouble and when he turned 18, he had money available. He told a lot of stories of celebrity encounters and celebrities he was trying to get to work with him on other projects.

It was pretty cool that he wrote two episodes of Family Matters, and both had very high ratings.

I had no clue that he was on DWTS, and during that time, he had a 2-year old daughter.

Even though I finished it, I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I mean, if you are a fan of Family Matters, then this is a must read. But for me, it was more, hey, I am a child actor and my parents primary goal of me working was so I can afford to go to college. I was on a TV show for 9 years, and then I struggled to get work as Jaleel (most people wanted Urkel).

Just two warnings before you read…

One of his mentors when he was younger was Bill Cosby. They had a falling out over Fat Albert and their relationship ended, a several years later, Cosby got into trouble.

Jaleel had an idea for television show and R Kelly was thought of to be a part of it. It didn’t work out, and several years later, R Kelly got into trouble.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. I watched all of the TGIF lineup of shows and always loved Family Matters. So reading the memoir of the star of the show as a lot of fun. Jaleel White shares how he got started in show business, how important his parents have been in his life, the stigma that comes with being a tv star for 9 years and then navigating life after all of that. Even while starring on Family Matters, he attends and graduates from UCLA (something his parents strongly encouraged). He has exceptional parents who made sure he wasn't taken advantage of by industry people (unlike the horror stores that have recently came out from other child/teen stars) and he was a good kid who didn't get in trouble. As a teen, his other passion besides acting, was playing basketball. And playing Steve Urkel helped him be able to meet a lot of basketball stars.
It was interesting reading about on set happenings while on Family Matters. Anyone who has watched the show clearly knows that Steve Urkel was the most popular character. However, he never received "top billing" and his agents never pushed that knowing it would offend other cast mates. Reading about some of the on-set jealousy from adult co-stars was also interesting. If you watched Family Matters, I think you will enjoy this book!

good book behind the show family matters and what's has happened with him. He talks about learning Hollywood and meeting with agents . He loved playing basketball and has an education. He talks about his stint on dancing with stars and issues with co parenting his daughter. Great to see denzel and will in the book. It was interesting to read his view on acting and racism and loved the moment in class where urkel was talked about. It was great learning more about his experiences and learning hollywood and meetings and working with certain directors.

This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. I grew up watching Jaleel and it was so nice to hear more of his backstory and about Jaleel the person. It was so nice getting a behind the scenes look into his life on and off screen from his many generations of fans! I absolutely loved it