Robin Givens
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Robin Givens (born November 27, 1964 in New York, New York) is an American actress. She attended Sarah Lawrence College. She famously claimed in Seventeen Magazine that she was accepted to Harvard Medical School but had given it up to appear on The Cosby Show because Bill Cosby himself told her that the school would always be there and her youthful career opportunities would not. Harvard later said that they had never even gotten her application.
She appeared on The Cosby Show and Diff'rent Strokes and the TV movie Beverly Hills Madam before receiving the role on Head of the Class that made her famous. She achieved further prominence as the wife (1988-1989) of heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson with whom she shared a mansion in the affluent suburbs of New Jersey. They divorced, however, after Givens accused Tyson of spousal abuse (Tyson was later arrested).
Her most famous television role was of rich girl Darlene Merriman on the sitcom Head of the Class. After her run on the show and her high profile divorce from Tyson, she appeared in numerous TV specials, TV movies (most notably The Women of Brewster Place with Oprah Winfrey and The Face with Yasmine Bleeth) and some failed sitcoms.
Givens attempted a comeback as the host of the talk show, Forgive or Forget replacing television personality Mother Love. While this was generally regarded as a failure, Givens was well-liked by the audience. With the exception of the occasional made-for-television movie, she has not been seen on television since.
She performed in New York in the Off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues, earning good reviews for her performance.
She once dated Brad Pitt. [link] She also dated Howard Stern for a short period of time.
She has two sons: Michael born 1992; and William born 1999 October. William is son of tennis player Murphy Jensen.
Filmography
- The Wiz (1978)
- The Women of Brewster Place 1989
- A Rage in Harlem (1991)
- Boomerang (1992)
- Foreign Student (1994)
- Blankman (1994)
- Dangerous Intentions (1995)
- The Face (1996)
- Secrets (1998) (short subject)
- Elite (2000)
- Everything's Jake (2000)
- Book of Love (2002)
- Head of State (2003)
- A Good Night to Die (2003)
- Love Chronicles (2003)
- Forbidden (2005) (currently filming)
External links
- [Biography] from TheHistoryOf.co.uk
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