Remember Ilene From Home Improvement? Here's What She Looks Like Today
"Home Improvement" fans have long said they wished Richard Karn's character Al Borland ended up with Sherry Hursey's Ilene Markham. With or without the show, though, Hursey has continued to do her own thing (and the fact that she's still gorg is just the cherry on top).
Spoiler alert for those just getting into "Home Improvement" now (seriously, where have you been?): Despite being together for years, Al and Ilene's relationship ended just moments before they were set to say their vows in Season 6. Like we said, OG fans of the show were unimpressed. "[Ilene's] departure never felt right to me and it was a shame they got all the way to the altar and backed out at the last minute," wrote one Redditor in 2025. Another wrote in 2026, "It made no sense when they broke up at their wedding. Even when I watched that episode for the first time as a kid, it still didn't make sense."
Unexpected exit or not, Hursey would go on to work on a number of projects post-"Home Improvement." One of those was "Bring It On," in which she played Kirsten Dunst's mom. She also made appearances on "Nip/Tuck" and "Touched By an Angel." And through it all, she is still as stunning as she was when she played "Detroit's sexiest orthodontist" on "Home Improvement." In fact, just like her former "Home Improvement" co-stars, Patricia Richardson and Debbe Dunning, she's aging like fine wine. The actor still sports her cascading blonde curls (and to think we assumed they were the product of a perm for her role in the '90s sitcom!), though these days they are in a lighter shade. She also has a seriously enviable glow. It's been decades since her time on "Home Improvement" wrapped, but we'd go as far as saying she looks downright ethereal.
Sherry Hursey looks like a real-life fairy
Sherry Hursey looks like she stepped out of a Shirley Barber fairy story these days, which certainly helped when it came to her 2020 film "Lilly's Light: The Movie." Hursey wrote the film herself, and the story centered on a foster family living in an enchanted lighthouse. Of course, as the writer and one of the film's producers, Hursey could create a character perfect for herself, but we're of the mind that she'd be the perfect pick for any fairy-themed film. Hollywood casting agents, take note!
With that said, it's also worth noting that Hursey has had a major career shift since her days on "Home Improvement" (and even "Lilly's Light: The Movie"). Today, she has a more "normal" job. In 2024, she shared on the "Still Standing Up Podcast with Craig Shoemaker" that she'd become a minister at Unity of the Oaks, an inclusive spiritual community that practices metaphysical Christianity. However, she's still an actor at heart and continues to reference her work in entertainment as a minister, even dissecting the spiritual messages in film in some of her messages.
As an aside, long before her time on "Home Improvement," Hursey was on Broadway, which she also shared on "Still Standing Up." She's drawn on that as a Unity minister, as well, comparing thoughts and beliefs to musical chords and notes in one message, and performing at the church's Christmas showcases. Ilene Markham decided to switch things up moments before her wedding to Al Borland, but it's safe to say Hursey has carved out a life on her own terms, too. The fact that she looks like a fairy princess while doing so, well... that's just the cherry on top.