Lisa Bonet

Lisa Bonet (born Lisa Michelle Boney; November 16, 1967), also known as Lilakoi Moon, is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Denise Huxtable Kendall on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and originally starring in its spinoff A Different World. Bonet was born in San Francisco, California. Her African American father, Allen Boney, is an opera singer and Texas native; 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. 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 Rashād. 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.