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Lisa Bonet extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Lisa Bonet
Born	Lisa Michelle Bonet[1] November 16, 1967 (1967-11-16) (age 41)[2] San Francisco, California, U.S.[3]
Other name(s)	Lilakoi Moon
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983—present
Spouse(s)	Lenny Kravitz (1987 - 1993)

Lisa Michelle Bonet (born November 16, 1967) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying the character of Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show and its spinoff A Different World.

Contents 1 Biography 1.1 Early life 1.2 Career 1.3 Personal life 2 Filmography 3 Awards and nominations 4 References 5 External links

Biography

Early life

Bonet was born in San Francisco, California ^[4].¹ Her African American father, Allen, was an opera singer, and her Jewish American mother, Arlene, was a teacher. She also has a younger sister who attended an elite private school in Marin County north of San Francisco; and another who attended Oberlin College. Lisa has had limited interaction with her family for several years for unknown reasons.²³ Bonet attended Reseda High School in Reseda, California, and Celluloid Actor's Studio in North Hollywood where she majored in acting.⁴

Career

After being in beauty pagents 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 Rashād, among others. In 1987, she briefty left The Cosby Show to star in the spin-off version, A Different World that focused on Denise Huxtable's life at College. That year, Bonet accepted the role of Epiphany Proudfoot in the movie Angel Heart opposite Mickey Rourke, directed by Alan Parker. Her part in the film was controversial: she appeared in a graphic sex scene with Rourke, out of which scenes had to be censored in order to ensure an R rating though later an uncut X rated version was released.⁵ After announcing her pregnancy during the run of A Different World, Bonet left the series.⁶ The following year, she returned to The Cosby Show, but was fired in 1991 for "creative differences".⁷⁸

After The Cosby Show, Bonet began to accept jobs on straight-to-video releases and made-for-TV movies. In 1998 she had a supporting role in Enemy of the State with Will Smith. 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.⁹

In August 2006, Bonet appeared in a week-long A Different World reunion special that aired on Nick at Nite, along with fellow co-stars Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Cree Summer, Dawnn Lewis, Darryl M. Bell, and Sinbad. That same year, Bonet co-starred in the 2006 film Whitepaddy, alongside Sherilyn Fenn, Hill Harper, Debra Wilson, Karen Black, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Personal life

On Bonet's 20th birthday, she eloped with singer Lenny Kravitz in Las Vegas. Bonet recalled of their relationship:

“

It was interesting when we were first finding out about each other, that our backgrounds were so similar. When I first told him my mom was Jewish, and he said 'So's my dad,' I thought that was both unusual and enchanting. I felt like, 'Okay, here's someone who really knows how it is.' And I think I trusted him a little more with my feelings and let him inside a little more than I ordinarily would have.3

”

She gave birth to daughter Zoë Isabella on December 1, 1988. She and Kravitz separated and eventually divorced in 1993.

It was around this time (1992) that Bonet legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the name Lisa Bonet for her entertainment career.¹⁰

On July 23, 2007, Bonet gave birth to her second child, daughter Lola Iolani Momoa. This is the first of two children with Jason Momoa, an actor noted for his roles in the television shows Baywatch and Stargate Atlantis. On December 15, 2008, Bonet and Momoa had a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.¹¹

Filmography

Film
Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1987	Angel Heart	Epiphany Proudfoot
1993	Bank Robber	Priscilla
1994	Dead Connection	Catherine Briggs
1998	Enemy of the State	Rachel Banks
2000	High Fidelity	Marie De Salle
2003	Biker Boyz	Queenie
2006	Whitepaddy	Mae Evans
Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	St. Elsewhere	Carla	Episode: "Entrapment"
1984-1991	The Cosby Show	Denise Huxtable Kendall	103 episodes
1985	Tales from the Darkside	Justine	Episode: "The Satanic Piano"
	ABC Afterschool Special	Carrie	1 episode
1987-1988	A Different World	Denise Huxtable	22 episodes
1994	New Eden	Lily	Television movie
2002	Lathe of Heaven	Heather Lelache	Television movie
2008	Life on Mars	Maya Daniels	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film or series
1985	Young Artist Award	Nominated	Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy Series	The Cosby Show
1986			Best Young Actress Starring in a Television Series	The Cosby Show
1988			Best Young Actress Starring in a New Television Comedy Series	The Cosby Show
		Won	Best Young Female Superstar in Motion Pictures	Angel Heart
1989		Nominated	Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special	The Cosby Show (Shared with Tempestt Bledsoe, Sabrina Le Beauf, Geoffrey Owens, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Deon Richmond, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner)
1986	Emmy Award		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	The Cosby Show
1988	Saturn Award		Best Supporting Actress	Angel Heart
2001	Black Reel Awards		Theatrical - Best Supporting Actress	High Fidelity
2006	TV Land Awards		Favorite Singing Siblings	The Cosby Show (Shared with Tempestt Bledsoe, Sabrina Le Beauf, Keshia Knight Pulliam, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner)

References

External links

• Lisa Bonet at the Internet Movie Database
• Lisa Bonet at Allmovie
• Lisa Bonet at TV.com

Persondata
NAME	Bonet, Lisa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Bonet, Lisa Michelle; Moon, Lilakoi
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Actress
DATE OF BIRTH	November 16, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH	San Francisco, California, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH