The Biggest Career Comebacks from TV Actresses, Ranked

“Relax, relate, release!” Jasmine Guy played spoiled Southern belle Whitley Gilbert on A Different World (1987–1993), the Cosby Show spinoff set at the fictional Hillman College. Whitley started out as a snob and grew into one of TV’s most loved characters.

Decades later, a whole new generation met Jasmine as Grams, the powerful witch grandmother of Bonnie Bennett on The Vampire Diaries, starting in 2009. Teen fans who’d never heard of Hillman were hooked on her. It was a solid recurring role, but she wasn’t the headliner this time.