If you were a lonely person with no one to ask advice from in the late ‘90s or early ‘00s, you were prime prey for an infomercial urging you to “call now” to have your cards read by the powerful Jamaican psychic Miss Cleo. The infomercials aired particularly often during late-night hours to entice those lonely souls desperate for some human connection. It was eventually revealed that the Psychic Readers Network that Miss Cleo worked for was a sham, and Miss Cleo herself wasn’t a psychic at all — but how did she become such a phenomenon in the first place? And what happened to her after her stint as Miss Cleo? Don’t worry, we’re here to tell you all about it!
Though the company’s website claimed that Miss Cleo was born in the Trelawny section of Jamaica and that she honed her gifts there since she was a little girl, Miss Cleo’s real name was Youree Dell Harris, and she was born in August 1962 in Los Angeles, California. Yep, you read that right, she’s not even Jamaican, though she did claim that her family originates from the small island nation. And although she stated she comes from a family of Obeah, which is another word for voodoo, in the mid-90s she was an actress and playwright in Seattle, Washington known as Ree Perris. In one of the plays she produced while living there, she portrayed a Jamaican character named Cleo. Ah ha, it all starts to come together.
When Harris ran into some financial trouble and couldn’t pay those who had worked on her plays, she was hired by the Psychic Readers Network (PRN) to reprise her Miss Cleo persona. She was soon the face of the PRN despite not being a psychic herself, recording infomercials encouraging people to call in to have their fortunes read (see some of those below). Though the infomercials always claimed that the first three minutes would be free, what they didn’t tell you is that you’d probably be on hold for those first three minutes, and then it would cost you $4.99 a minute to talk to someone — and more often than not, it wouldn’t even be Miss Cleo that you spoke to, but another supposed psychic. In truth, most of those psychics were actors or struggling students who were given loose scripts to follow when speaking with callers.
While Harris rose to fame as Miss Cleo and even appeared on The Jenny Jones Show (check out that clip below) to perform some psychic readings, by 2002 the PRN was charged by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising, billing, and collection practices. Overall, the FTC said nearly 6 million people called in, racking up nearly $1 billion in charges, with calls costing an average of $60 each. Soon enough, the company agreed to forgive $500 million in outstanding charges, and paid $5 million more to the FTC. But what about Miss Cleo?
Harris herself was never implicated in any of these schemes, and it’s unclear how much money she actually made from any of it. As quickly as she had risen to prominence, she faded into obscurity, though she did have a voice role in the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City as Auntie Polet. She attempted to make a resurgence in 2015, recording commercials for the cereal French Toast Crunch, using her Miss Cleo persona to whip up some nostalgia, but the PRN intervened, claiming they owned the rights to her character, and the commercials were taken off the air. But if you want to see that commercial, no worries, check it out below:
Sadly, Harris developed colon cancer and passed away in 2016 at just 53 years old. Though she got a lot of flack for her reputation as Miss Cleo, in the end she was just like the rest of us struggling to make our way in the world, using whatever talents we may have.
Did you or anyone you know ever try to call Miss Cleo? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments!
- In 2006, Harris came out as a lesbian in The Advocate magazine. In that interview, she also states that she made a little less than $450,000 during her time as Miss Cleo.
- In a 2009 report by The Spokesman-Review, they stated that Harris still offered readings to her local community in Florida for $75 to $250 each, although she didn’t refer to herself as a psychic, but instead a voodoo priestess.
- Harris appears in the 2014 documentary Hotline, where she discusses her experience as a telephone psychic and how she was seen as a fraud by countless strangers.
- Harris went by many names throughout the years in addition to Miss Cleo, including Ree Perris, Youree Cleomili, Youree Perris, Rae Dell Harris, Cleomili Perris Youree, and Cleomili Harris.
- In 2001, a book was published called Keepin’ It Real: A Practical Guide for Spiritual Living that attributed Miss Cleo as the author. A tarot card power deck was also created using her likeness and name.
- In 2006, Harris came out as a lesbian in The Advocate magazine. In that interview, she also states that she made a little less than $450,000 during her time as Miss Cleo.
- In a 2009 report by The Spokesman-Review, they stated that Harris still offered readings to her local community in Florida for $75 to $250 each, although she didn’t refer to herself as a psychic, but instead a voodoo priestess.
- Harris appears in the 2014 documentary Hotline, where she discusses her experience as a telephone psychic and how she was seen as a fraud by countless strangers.
- Harris went by many names throughout the years in addition to Miss Cleo, including Ree Perris, Youree Cleomili, Youree Perris, Rae Dell Harris, Cleomili Perris Youree, and Cleomili Harris.
- In 2001, a book was published called Keepin’ It Real: A Practical Guide for Spiritual Living that attributed Miss Cleo as the author. A tarot card power deck was also created using her likeness and name.
