| This article is about 1990s series. You may be looking for the 2022 reboot character. |
Jacqueline "Jackie" Ames is a recurring character in the fourth season of the 90s hit TV sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She is one of Will Smith's childhood friends and past girlfriends from West Philadelphia, who moves out west to Bel-Air, California after accepting a basketball scholarship from the University of California, Los Angeles. Jackie is portrayed by renowned model and TV personality, Tyra banks.
Background[]
As revealed in the second part of the fourth season premiere "Where There's a Will, There's A Way", Jackie was born and raised in West Philadelphia, in the same neighborhood Will was brought up in. She leaves West Philadelphia and moves to Bel-Air after accepting a basketball scholarship offered to her by UCLA, which, coincidentally, is also Will's college of choice. She takes a job as store manager for the campus convenience store, The Peacock Stop, and hires Will as one of her employees when one of her workers quits and conveniently leaves a vacant position for the desperate Will.
She is initially upset that he didn't attempt to contact her but eventually forgives him. As manager of The Peacock Stop, Jackie is the object of Will's affection and frequent come-ons but continually spurns his advances, deeming him too immature. The two were old childhood friends from Philadelphia but she feels Will hasn't grown up since those days. There are certain innuendos indicating she still has feelings for Will. However, Jackie severs all of her ties to Will when he challenges her boyfriend, a football player, to a drinking game while at the jock's birthday party. After being rebuffed by both Will and the football player when she tries to stop them, she has Carlton drive her home and is never seen again.