- published: 03 Jun 2013
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Lisa Michelle Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Denise Huxtable–Kendall on the NBC sitcom, The Cosby Show (1984–92) and originally starring in its spinoff comedy, A Different World for its first season (1987–88).
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. She has several younger half-siblings. 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.
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. It 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".