Julia Montgomery Recalls Nailing Stephanie Tanner's Iconic 'How Rude' While Portraying an Older Version of Her onFull House

Mar. 15, 2025

Julia Montgomery as the adult Stephanie Tanner on ‘Full House’.Photo:AFF-USA/Shutterstock;ABC

Julia Montgomery full house episode

AFF-USA/Shutterstock;ABC

Julia Montgomery brought her sass to playing Stephanie Tanner onFull House.

Montgomery, 64, played the future adult version of Stephanie Tanner on theFull Houseepisode “Those Better Not Be the Days.” On Jan. 8, the actress guest-starred on rewatch podcastHow Rude, Tanneritosand spoke with hostsJodie SweetinandAndrea Barberabout studying and playing the part of Stephanie.

The Revenge of the Nerdsactress recalled mimicking Stephanie’s character, from using the iconic ’90s-style ringlet curls that Stephanie wore right down to her sassy catchphrase.

“The hair did make it. Absolutely,” Montgomery told Sweetin and Barber. “I had that much hair back then.”

Montgomery — who even met the creator of the ABC sitcom, Jeff Franklin, before filming theFull Houseepisode — explained that practicing for the role and studying the character of Steph was quite different from what it is now, with YouTube being readily accessible. But from the episodes, she saw that Steph’s distinct mannerisms weren’t always easy to pick out.

In the last season of the sitcomCheers,Montgomery played a similar role where she impersonatedShelley Long’s character Diane Chambers. She used this to her advantage while preparing to play the future version of Stephanie.

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Montgomery also had another strategy up her sleeve: “I would watch the show without the dialogue.”

This helped her replicate Steph’s mannerisms, but the actress admitted she still had some regrets about her portrayal.

“…I’m pissed at myself that I didn’t get more of the hands,”The Next Generationactress told Sweetin and Barber.

After delivering the iconic line, Montgomery’s confidence in the role grew.

“When we’re off to the mall or whatever, and I sort of did a skip, I was like, ‘Okay, that was good,’” Montgomery said, recalling filming the episode as the adult version of Stephanie.

source: people.com