Stephanie Mills

Stephanie is Edith's orphaned niece, taken in by the Bunkers and dropped straight into Archie's household as a new source of friction and unexpected softness. She's sharp-tongued for a kid, quick to talk back, and more street-smart than her age suggests. Her arrival forces the family to make room for someone else's grief.

Brisebois plays her without a trace of sitcom cuteness, which is exactly why she lands — Stephanie needles Archie back instead of cowering, and the show trusts a child actor to hold her own in scenes built for adults. She's a late addition who never feels bolted on.