On this day in comedy on November 16, 1967 Actress, Lisa Michelle Bonet was born in San Francisco, CA.
Bonet majored in acting at Celluloid Actor’s Studio in North Hollywood. She was in beauty pageants and guest starred on TV series and then she became Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show. She was on NBCs top rated sitcom and they were dying to have a spin-off. Bonet was selected for the show, A Different World. It would focus on her time at college.
A Different World starred Bonet for one season. The show was a major hit, but Bonet’s career decisions were not with NBC brass. There were a series of missteps starting with nude scenes in the Alan Parker directed film, Angel Heart. This was followed up by a breast bearing centerfold in Interview magazine and then she announced that she was pregnant. This was all too much for the girl-next-door, unless you lived next door to a brothel. Bonet was allowed to return to The Cosby Show, but that didn’t last long and soon she was fired.
Once Lisa Bonet came from under the cloud of television wholesomeness she concentrated on films. She just wanted to work. Bonet did some straight-to-video flicks as well as major motion pictures. She co-starred with Will Smith in Enemy of the State in 1998. In 2000 she was in High Fidelity and Biker Boyz in 2003. She also appeared on British television.
Bonet has multiple acting award nominations including a win from the Young Artist Award for Angel Heart in 1988.
By Darryl “D’Militant” Littleton
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