Background
Bonet was born in San Francisco, California. Her African-American father, Allen Bonet, was an opera singer and was born in Texas. Her Jewish mother, Arlene (née Litman), was a teacher.
Bonet was born in San Francisco, California. Her African-American father, Allen Bonet, was an opera singer and was born in Texas. Her Jewish mother, Arlene (née Litman), was a teacher.
Bonet attended Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, California. She also attended the Celluloid Actor"s Studio in North Hollywood where she majored in acting.
She is best known for her role as Denise Huxtable–Kendall on the National Broadcasting Company sitcom, The Cosby Show (1984-1992) and originally starring in its spinoff comedy, A Different World for its first season (1987-1988). She has several younger half-siblings. After being in beauty pageants and appearing in guest spots on television series as a child, Bonet landed the role of Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show alongside Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad.
In 1987, she briefly left The Cosby Show to star in the spin-off series A Different World, which focused on Denise Huxtable"s life at college.
That year, Bonet, then 19, accepted the role of 17-year-old Epiphany Proudfoot in the movie Angel Heart opposite Mickey Rourke, directed by Alan Parker. In the film, several seconds of an explicit scene she shared with Rourke"s much older character were edited to ensure an R-rating.
lieutenant was followed by a topless centerspread in Interview magazine. After announcing her pregnancy during the run of A Different World, Bonet left the series.
The following year, she returned to The Cosby Show, but was fired in 1991 because of "creative differences".
After The Cosby Show, Bonet began to accept jobs on straight-to-video releases and made-for-television movies. In 2000, she appeared in the movie High Fidelity. In 2003, she played the role of Queenie in Biker Boyz, which reunited her with former co-star Kadeem Hardison of A Different World.
Bonet also co-starred in the 2006 film Whitepaddy alongside Sherilyn Fenn, Hill Harper, Debra Wilson, Karen Black, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Two years later she appeared in the United States adaptation of the British television series, Life on Mars.
Married Lenny Kravitz, November 19, 1987 (divorced April 1993). 1 child Zoe;2 children.