The Los Angeles-born Harris admitted to playing a character for the infomercials, and had a background as a playwright – not a Jamaican soothsayer as the now-defunct Psychic Readers Network heralded her as.
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Recently, though, Miss Cleo was battling colon cancer, which had unfortunately spread to her liver and lungs (according to her rep who spoke to TMZ) and caused her to pass away on Tuesday morning at a hospice center in Palm Beach County, Florida.
However, Harris, a mother of two daughters who came out as a lesbian to the Advocate in 2006, continued meeting with clients in person. “People really believed that I owned the company”. I got a kick out of telling people that I knew her, a little, and hoped that she would say the same. Fans took to social media to reminisce on the times they had called Miss Cleo in hopes of learning what the future may have in store.
In addition, Miss Cleo also provided voice work for the 2002 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City once her career as a TV psychic ended.
Harris entered America’s pop culture in the late ’90s, arriving with tools that were built for late-night TV audiences: A deck of tarot cards, a skeptical facial expression and an oft-uttered catchphrase – “Call me now!”.
Robin E. Beck called Harris’ character the “OG psychic”. That year, she did an interview with Vice, saying that she is still recognized on the street. “So they refer to me as psychic – because the word voodoo scares just about everybody”, she explained. In a 2014 documentary called Hotline, she spoke emotionally about how it felt to be seen as a liar by countless strangers.
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“She remained a pillar of strength throughout”, Cone said in a statement. The experience of seeing herself was eye-opening, she said.
