Every show needs a wild one. For Designing Women, that came in the form of Suzanne Sugarbaker, played by the fabulous Delta Burke. Suzanne played Julia’s younger, more ‘free-spirited’ sister. She definitely brought a lot of spice to the show
Often getting caught up in shenanigans with Anthony, her contribution was a great one. Unfortunately, it didn’t last forever, as the show went on, she lost some screen time. She left at the end of season 5.
George Newbern As Payne McIlroy
Payne McIlroy certainly had an impressive mother to look up to. But while he took after her in a number of ways, he was still his own person and chose to do many things in his own Payne way. Luckily, the character was played by the loveable George Newbern
You couldn't get mad at that sweet face. Payne eventually packed up to New York to pursue his own career, but still wouldn't hesitate in calling up his mom for advice.
George Newbern Today
Newbern became especially recognizable after his role on Designing Women. Shortly after the show ended he was becoming a pretty prominent actor and had appeared a few '90s family classics like Father of the Bride and Adventures in Babysitting.
After some success in film, Newbern found his way back into the TV screen for the medical drama series Chicago of Hope. Recently he has been on the show, yup, you guessed it...Scandal.
Delta Burke Today
It wasn't a total secret as to why we saw less of Burke as time went on. There were many behind the scenes disputes. Burke, unfortunately, crashed with a large part of the cast and crew.
Burke had a brief comeback show, aptly named Delta but aside from that, the actress had a tough time getting work. In the mid-2000s she starred in a few episodes of Boston Legal. Her last role was in the film Counter Culture.
Gail O'Grady As Kiki Kearney
True fans of the show will remember Kiki Kearney who was portrayed by the amazingly talented Gail O'Grady. Sure, she only appeared on two episodes, and while we would have loved to have her on for more, she was just on the verge of blowing up and becoming a huge TV star.
It was at this point in time that Gail was playing Donna Abandando in NYPD Blue. She ended up appearing in almost 60 episodes of the show, all between the years 1993-1999.