Jamie Lee Curtis broke into uncontrollable laughter on Wednesday while recounting the one celebrity whose autograph she once requested: Steve Urkel, the nerdy character played by Jaleel White on the sitcom Family Matters.
On "The Late Show" segment "Colbert Questionert," host Stephen Colbert asked Curtis which star she had asked for an autograph. After a moment of apparent recollection, Curtis began to laugh and then, smiling sheepishly, said, "Urkel." She told Colbert she had secured the autograph while she was "with my child," and when he asked whether the child still had it, Curtis replied, "I have it in her scrapbook." The anecdote drew extended laughter from both the guest and the audience.
The exchange shifted abruptly when Colbert pivoted from the lighthearted moment to a heavier question about mortality. Asked what she believes happens when people die, Curtis answered plainly, "I think we die. ... I think that's it." Colbert noted that the "Colbert Questionert" is known for such sudden tonal changes.
Curtis's recollection highlighted the enduring cultural footprint of Family Matters, which aired from 1989 to 1998 and made Steve Urkel a widely recognized television figure. The clip of her telling the story, which includes the sustained laughter and her final response to Colbert's question about death, runs to roughly the 2:59 mark of the segment.
The appearance combined humor, nostalgia and a moment of frankness that underscored the segment's rapid shifts in tone. Curtis, who has appeared in a variety of film and television roles over several decades, used the brief anecdote to offer a personal, domestic detail about a celebrity encounter, then responded candidly when the conversation moved to larger existential questions.
The exchange was shared widely on social media following the broadcast, with viewers noting both Curtis's infectious laughter and the abrupt change in subject matter during the Questionert segment. The segment aired as part of Stephen Colbert's late-night program, which regularly features short, rapid-fire interviews that range from comedic to contemplative.