Lilakoi Moon (ššØš«š§Ā Lisa Michelle Bonet; November 16, 1967), known professionally asĀ Lisa Bonet (/boŹĖneÉŖ/), is an American actress. She portrayed Denise Huxtable on the sitcomĀ The Cosby ShowĀ (1984ā1992), for which she earned widespread acclaim and a nomination for theĀ Primetime Emmy AwardĀ forĀ Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy SeriesĀ in 1986; she reprised the role of Denise in the first season of the spinoff seriesĀ A Different World.
She also appeared in theĀ psychological horrorĀ filmĀ Angel HeartĀ (1987), which earned her a nomination for theĀ Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. Bonet has starred in the actionĀ thrillerĀ filmĀ Enemy of the StateĀ (1998), theĀ comedy-dramaĀ filmĀ High FidelityĀ (2000), theĀ action dramaĀ filmĀ Biker BoyzĀ (2003) and the thriller filmĀ Road to PalomaĀ (2013). She has sporadically worked in TV acting, appearing in roles such as Maya Daniels inĀ Life on MarsĀ (2008ā2009) and Marisol onĀ Ray DonovanĀ (2016).
Early life
Lisa Michelle Bonet was ššØš«š§ on November 16, 1967, in San Francisco, California, to Arlene Joyce Litman, a white Jewish-American schoolteacher, and Allen Bonet, an opera singer of African-American heritage from Texas.Ā She has five half-sisters, including singer Kadhja Bonet, and two half-brothers by her father’s marriage to Deborah Church. Bonet’s parents separated when Bonet was still a šššš¦. Bonet was raised by her single mother in lower-middle-class Reseda and never knew her father. Bonet said she never fit in at Birmingham High School, in Van Nuys, California. “I was stuck in the middle,” she told The Los Angeles Times. āThe black kids called me an Oreo. The white kids didnāt talk to me.”
She said she did not date in high school because she didn’t fit in. āMy biggest worry in high school was who was going to take me to the prom, since I didnāt have a date,” she told theĀ Los Angeles Times. She said the problem disappeared when she landed theĀ CosbyĀ job in New York and wouldnāt attend prom.
Bonet graduated Birmingham High School and later studied acting at the Celluloid Actor’s Studio in North Hollywood.
Career
After being in beauty competitions and appearing in guest spots on television series as a š¤š©šŖšš„, Bonet landed the role ofĀ Denise HuxtableĀ onĀ The Cosby Show, the second-oldest š¤š©šŖšš„ of the parents played by Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad. . Later in the show, she becomes the stepmom to Olivia Kendall played by Raven-SymonĆ©.
That year, Bonet, then 19, played 17-year-old Epiphany Proudfoot in the movieĀ Angel Heart opposite Mickey Rourke. In the film, several seconds of an explicit scene she shared with Rourke (filmed when she was 18) were edited to avoid an X rating. ForĀ Angel Heart, Bonet earned a nomination for theĀ Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was featured topless inĀ Interview magazine.
Bonet didn’t appreciate the way the press covered her or the controversy at the time. āI think the whole scandal is ridiculous,ā she said. āThey (the news media) are trying to steam it up.ā She said that the brief glimpse of one of her bare breasts is “nothing that hasn’t been done before or that hasn’t been seen before,” including in films like Blue Velvet, which was rated R even though it contained frontal nudity.
In 1986, Bonet earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. After announcing her pregnancy during the run ofĀ A Different World, Bonet left the series. She returned to The Cosby Show the following year, but was fired in April 1991 because of “creative differences”.
In September 1992, Bonet hostedĀ Why Bother Voting?, an election special focusing on young voters’ concerns and apathy. She had supporting roles in the 1998 film Enemy of the StateĀ and the 2000 filmĀ High Fidelity. In 2003 she played Queenie inĀ Biker Boyz, which reunited her with herĀ A Different World co-starĀ Kadeem Hardison.
Bonet co-starred in the filmĀ WhitepaddyĀ in 2005. She did not have another film role until 2014’sĀ Road to Paloma, opposite her future husband Jason Momoa. She did, however, appear in a number of television series, including the American adaptation of the British television seriesĀ Life on Mars. She again played a romantic lead opposite Jason Momoa on the Sundance TV seriesĀ The Red Road. āI felt protected and I feel safe when I work with him,” Bonet said of working with Momoa.
Since then, Bonet has made guest appearances on TV shows includingĀ GirlsĀ andĀ Ray Donovan.
Personal life
On November 16, 1987, her 20th šš¢š«šš”day, BonetĀ elopedĀ with American rock singerĀ Lenny KravitzĀ inĀ 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 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.
Bonet gave šš¢š«šš” to their daughter, actress ZoĆ« Isabella Kravitz, on December 1, 1988.[31] She and Kravitz divorced in 1993. That same year, she legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, although she still uses the name Lisa Bonet professionally.
Since meeting on the set ofĀ A Different World in its first season in 1987, Bonet has been close friends with actressĀ Marisa Tomei, who is a godmother to all three of Bonet’s š¤š©šŖšš„ren.
In 2005, Bonet began a relationship with actor Jason Momoa. They married in October 2017. Bonet and Momoa have two š¤š©šŖšš„ren: a daughter ššØš«š§ in July 2007,Ā and a son ššØš«š§ in December 2008.[36] In January 2022, Momoa and Bonet announced their separation. On January 8, 2024, Bonet filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. [39] In her divorce filing, Bonet revealed that she and Momoa had actually separated on October 7, 2020. Court documents which were obtained by People confirmed that the divorce was granted one day later. A Los Angeles county judge declared them divorced on July 9, 2024. Neither Bonet, nor Momoa asked for financial support and they have agreed on how to split their assets. The court granted the former couple joint custody of their š¤š©šŖšš„ren, who, at the time, included: 16-year-old daughter, Lola, and 15-year-old son, Nakoa-Wolf.
