Lisa Bonet
- Category : Actress
- Type : GE
- Profile : 6/2 - Role Model / Hermit
- Definition : Split - Large
- Incarnation Cross : LAX Dedication 2
Biography
Lilakoi Moon (born Lisa Michelle Bonet; November 16, 1967), known professionally as Lisa Bonet, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Denise Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and originally starring in its spinoff A Different World.
Early life
Bonet was born in San Francisco, California. Her African-American father, Allen Bonet, is 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 Reseda High School in Reseda, California, and Celluloid Actor's Studio in North Hollywood where she majored in acting.
Career
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 Rash?d. 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 accepted the role of Epiphany Proudfoot in the movie Angel Heart opposite Mickey Rourke, directed by Alan Parker. In the film, she appeared in an explicit sex scene with Rourke from which several seconds were edited to ensure an R-rating. 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 for "creative differences".
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.
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 US adaptation of the British television series, Life on Mars.
Personal life
On November 16, 1987, her 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.”
She gave birth to daughter Zoë Isabella on December 1, 1988.
In 1992, Bonet legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the name Lisa Bonet professionally. In 2005 she met actor Jason Momoa, who is noted for his roles in the television shows Baywatch, Stargate Atlantis, the HBO series Game of Thrones and the 2011 Conan the Barbarian remake; and started a relationship. On July 23, 2007, Bonet gave birth to her second child Lola Iolani Momoa, the first of two children with Momoa. On December 15, 2008, they had a son named Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.