Lisa Michelle Boney, popularly known as Lisa Bonet, was born November 16, 1967, in San Francisco, California. Her parents were Allen Boney and Arlene Boney, African American and Jewish American respectively. Her parents divorced when Bonet was young, and she has subsequently spent the majority of her life between New York and Los Angeles. She attended Reseda High School located in Los Angeles, California, and later Celluloid Actor’s Studio in North Hollywood, graduating with an acting degree.
Long before Bonet even met Cosby, she dreamt of being an actress. To that end, at the age of eleven, she appeared in various commercials. She also made numerous one-episode appearances on popular television shows such as St. Elsewhere, opposite Eric Stoltz and Karen Landry; Tales from the Darkside in 1985; and Don’t Touch, one installment in the ABC Afterschool Special series, with brothers Joey Lawrence and Matthew Lawrence.
It was, however, her role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, which she landed when she was just sixteen, that propelled her into the limelight. Co-starring with Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Tempestt Bledsoe, and a slew of celebrity guests, Bonet became an instantly recognizable TV personality.
Around this time, Bonet met struggling musician Romeo Blue. A virtual unknown, Bonet was by far the more famous of the duo. They fell in love amid tabloid frenzy and married in 1987, welcoming their daughter Zoe in 1988. With a recording contract in 1989, Romeo Blue began going by his now famous moniker Lenny Kravitz. Despite media buzz about their "soul mate" status, the relationship was riddled with problems. For starters, they were in and out of tabloids, constantly under the public microscope. There were also repeated claims of Kravitz’s inability to be faithful.
Complicating matters, Bonet was also making a concerted effort to break away from her "good girl" image acquired from working on the squeaky clean Cosby Show. In 1987, she had a co-starring role in Angel Heart, with Mickey Rourke, Robert De Niro, and Charlotte Rampling. Bonet played Epiphany Proudfoot, and her character’s nude sex scene intermingled with violent themes and imagery would have earned the film an X rating. The film was later re-cut and released under a more "family friendly" R rating. Rumors indicate this movie and the resultant backlash may have incited Bonet’s early exit from the successful Cosby Show.
Despite the controversy and those ever-present tabloids working overtime, Bonet landed on her feet. In 1987, she reprised her role as Denise Huxtable in the spin-off series A Different World. She shared the screen with many up-and-coming stars including Marisa Tomei (playing Bonet’s roommate), Sinbad, and Loretta Devine. However, mounting marital problems with an allegedly straying Kravitz and other personal issues prompted Bonet’s firing in 1989. Kravitz and Bonet separated and officially divorced in 1993.
Bonet was left to reconstruct her career by any means necessary, including a slew of B-movies. These included Bank Robber in 1993, opposite Patrick Dempsey, Judge Reinhold, and Forest Whitaker; Dead Connection, with Michael Madsen and Parker Posey; and New Eden, co-starring Stephen Baldwin.
More noteworthy appearances include her role in the thriller Enemy of the State, with Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Jamie Kennedy, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, and Jack Black. She also had an important role in Stephen Frears’ adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel High Fidelity, with co-stars John Cusack, Catherine Zeta Jones, Joan Cusack, and Tim Robbins.
Bonet may also be recognized by younger audiences for her turn in the mediocre Biker Boyz, with Laurence Fishburne, Djimon Hounsou, and Larenz Tate.
She is currently in negotiations with powerhouse directors Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for their new film Gambit. Other rumored participants include Jennifer Aniston, Colin Firth, and Ben Kingsley.
Bonet had her second child in 1994 with then boyfriend Brian Kest. She is currently expecting her third child with current boyfriend Jason Momoa.
YUDDY
