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

Biography

Lisa was born in San Francisco, California. 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. Lisa attended Reseda High School in Reseda, California, and Celluloid Actor's Studio in North Hollywood where she majored in acting.

After being in beauty pagents and appearing in guest spots on television series as a child, Lisa 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, Lisa 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.  After announcing her pregnancy during the run of A Different World, Lisa left the series. The following year, she returned to The Cosby Show, but was fired in 1991 for "creative differences".

After The Cosby Show, Lisa 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.

In August 2006, Lisa 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, Lisa co-starred in the 2006 film Whitepaddy, alongside Sherilyn Fenn, Hill Harper, Debra Wilson, Karen Black, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

On Bonet's 20th birthday, she eloped with singer Lenny Kravitz in Las Vegas.

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 Lisa legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the name Lisa Bonet for her entertainment career.

On July 23, 2007, Lisa 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, Lisa and Momoa had a son, Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.

This Lisa Bonet Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Chuck Ayoub