If you grew up in the late 90s, you couldn't escape her. You'd be sitting on your couch at 2:00 AM, and suddenly, there she was: a woman with a colorful turban, a thick Jamaican accent, and that legendary catchphrase: "Call me now!" She was Miss Cleo, the face of the Psychic Readers Network. She promised to tell you if your boyfriend was cheating or if a windfall of cash was coming your way. But as the years passed and the infomercials vanished from the airwaves, people started wondering: is Miss Cleo still alive, or was she just a character who disappeared into the shadows of late-night TV history?
The truth is a bit more somber than the bright, neon-lit sets of her commercials.
The Reality of Miss Cleo’s Passing
To answer the question directly: no, Miss Cleo is not still alive. She passed away nearly a decade ago. It’s one of those celebrity deaths that somehow feels both widely known and strangely forgotten. Youree Dell Harris—the woman the world knew as Miss Cleo—died on July 26, 2016. She was only 53 years old.
She didn't go out in some high-profile Hollywood drama. She died in hospice care in Palm Beach County, Florida. The cause was cancer. Specifically, she had been battling colon cancer that eventually spread to her liver and lungs. According to her representatives at the time, she was a "pillar of strength" until the very end. It’s a stark contrast to the loud, boisterous persona we all saw on screen.
Who Was the Woman Behind the Turban?
Most people assume she was a fake because of the lawsuits, and yeah, the accent wasn't exactly authentic. Youree Dell Harris wasn't even Jamaican. She was born in Los Angeles. Before she became a psychic superstar, she was a struggling actress and playwright. She actually had a whole career in Seattle theater under the name Ree Perris before the "Miss Cleo" persona ever existed.
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The Psychic Readers Network hired her to play a character. That's a huge distinction people miss. She was a spokesperson. Imagine being the face of a billion-dollar company but only getting paid like a mid-level employee. That was her life. While the network was raking in enough cash to buy small islands, Harris was basically a salaried performer.
The $1 Billion Scandal
The reason people often ask "is Miss Cleo still alive" with a hint of skepticism is because her career ended in one of the biggest consumer fraud settlements in history. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) went after the Psychic Readers Network for deceptive advertising and billing.
- The company promised "free" readings that actually cost a fortune.
- They targeted vulnerable people with aggressive collection tactics.
- The total debt forgiven in the settlement was a staggering $500 million.
Here’s the kicker: Harris herself was never actually charged with the fraud. The FTC acknowledged that she was just an actress. But in the court of public opinion? She was the villain. She became the scapegoat for a massive corporate scheme she didn't even run. It’s kinda tragic when you think about it. She was famous, but she wasn't rich, and she certainly wasn't the mastermind.
Life After the Hotline
After the infomercials stopped, Harris didn't just crawl into a hole and hide. She actually did some pretty cool stuff that most people completely missed. If you’re a gamer, you might recognize her voice. She played Auntie Poulet in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It was a perfect nod to her "Miss Cleo" persona, just with a slightly grittier vibe.
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She also came out as a lesbian in 2006, which was a huge deal for someone whose fan base included a lot of conservative-leaning daytime TV viewers. She became an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and spent her later years trying to distance herself from the "scam artist" label. She'd tell anyone who listened that she actually was a shaman and a practitioner of Voodoo, even if the "Miss Cleo" version was a caricature.
Why We’re Still Talking About Her in 2026
Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Even now, you can find "Call me now!" memes all over social media. There’s a reason she sticks in our collective memory. She represented an era of television that doesn't exist anymore—the Wild West of 1-900 numbers and low-budget late-night promises.
Recently, the documentary Call Me Miss Cleo (which hit streaming services like Max) shed a lot of light on her personal struggles. It painted a picture of a woman who was talented, misunderstood, and ultimately used by a system that was far more predatory than she ever was. She died relatively penniless, living with roommates, while the executives who actually pocketed the billions largely faded into comfortable obscurity.
What Most People Get Wrong
One of the biggest misconceptions is that she went to jail. She didn't. She spent years correcting that rumor. She told Vice in a 2014 interview that she would go to the grocery store and people would look at her like they'd seen a ghost because they thought she was locked up.
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Another misconception? That she didn't believe in what she was doing. While the scripts she read on TV were obviously written by marketing teams, those who knew her personally said she took her spiritual practice seriously. She genuinely believed she had a gift, even if the medium she used to share it—a predatory hotline—was a disaster.
Honoring the Legacy
If you want to look further into the life of Youree Dell Harris, there are a few things you can do to get the full story.
- Watch the Documentary: Call Me Miss Cleo is probably the most honest look at her life. It features interviews with her family and former colleagues. It’s eye-opening.
- Look Past the Meme: Understand that "Miss Cleo" was a job. Like any actor playing a role, she wasn't the person who wrote the bill.
- Support Cancer Research: Given that she passed away so young from colon cancer, her story is a reminder of the importance of early screening.
So, while the answer to "is Miss Cleo still alive" is no, her impact on pop culture is very much alive. She was a pioneer of the "viral" personality before the internet was even a thing. She was a Los Angeles actress who accidentally became the face of a global controversy, and she handled it with a lot more grace than most people give her credit for.
To learn more about the legal fallout that ended the psychic hotline era, you can check out the official FTC archives regarding the settlement with the Psychic Readers Network. It's a fascinating look at how consumer protection laws changed because of her.