Lisa Bonet may have played a hip college student on-screen — but off-screen,
she lives high up in the mountains without a TV. From her iconic hairstyle to penning
rock tunes, Bonet has always done things her way.
In 1993, Lisa Bonet was at a personal crossroads. Her marriage to ex-husband
Lenny Kravitz ended a few years prior, and her career had stalled.
"You know, I've just have gone through lots of changes."
So, Bonet made the decision to legally change her name to Lilakoi Moon. But regardless of
the name change, the actor continued to be credited as Lisa Bonet in her projects.
As Emerge magazine reported, Bonet said that the name change was part of a larger effort
to keep her privacy intact. In the years that followed, she offered very little additional
explanation about the swap, and it's unclear to what degree she has used the name since.
Lisa Bonet and Marisa Tomei met for the first time when
they were both cast on "A Different World." The two played roommates,
and developed such a close bond that Tomei is godmother to all three of Bonet's children.
While the pair asked each other questions for Interview magazine in 2021, they revealed just how
deep their friendship is. After discussing their fondness for visiting flea markets and finding
clothes, Bonet admitted that Tomei helped guide her toward repurposing older items. She said,
"I'm a total repurposer, so finding another life for something, and letting it live on is so
satisfying. And then, knowing an object's history and craftsmanship, and you've got me hooked."
While Lisa Bonet doesn't give a lot of interviews or statements,
she has spoken up about her penchant for fitness and healthy eating habits over the years. In an
interview with The New York Times, Bonet shared that she's a big fan of yoga and Pilates and that
she definitely enjoys hitting the gym. Bonet also said that she even goes to a dance class, adding,
"I take an African dance class that I live for. I just walked in one day,
and I have been doing it pretty regularly for seven years now."
That healthy lifestyle also extends to what she puts into her body. While speaking with
Tomei for Interview magazine, Bonet shared her ideal breakfast, saying,
"I'll scramble an egg in coconut oil and throw the bone broth over that.
And that is very sustaining with some lovely sourdough and some beautiful cultured butter."
For a chat with Porter magazine, Bonet invited the interviewer to her home in the mountains
outside of Los Angeles. After moving to Topanga, California following her divorce
from Lenny Kravitz, Bonet built a home for herself and their daughter, Zoë Kravitz. In the interview,
Bonet said that the mountainous area is just right for her. She explained,
"I know people give Southern California a bad rap,
but I love it here. You can create the life you want."
Bonet and Lenny Kravitz were only married for six years,
but their brief relationship was a powerful time for the pair. Bonet was already well known for
her work on "The Cosby Show" and "A Different World," and Kravitz was writing his music.
Kravitz landed his first record deal a year after their relationship began in the late 1980s,
and it turns out that Bonet even contributed to his first album by co-writing a few of
the songs. Although they divorced in 1993, the two worked through
their problems and have been good friends ever since. As Bonet told Porter magazine,
staying on good terms was an effort they both made for their daughter. She said to the outlet,
"I didn't want to pass on those heirlooms, and this fresh wound of a divorce."
"She really helped to, um, bring out the best in me."
Lisa Bonet met her second husband, actor Jason Momoa,
in the mid-2000s. The two welcomed their first child together in 2007 and their second in
December 2008. They married in 2017 before announcing their separation in January 2022.
Though they are both actors, the twosome only worked together once when they co-starred in
2014's "Road to Paloma." Momoa was also billed as a writer, producer, and director on the
movie. When asked if the two had fun working together, Momoa told Indian Country Today,
"Yes but it's also nerve-racking because your love
is there — but at the same time is a dream come true to work with her."
"She was the queen, always."
Audiences were stunned when Lisa Bonet was
fired from the set of "A Different World" in 1988 after appearing in only one season of the show.
"It just seemed like a wonderful opportunity
to work with some new people and just to try some new stuff out."
The reason why she was asked to leave wasn't immediately clear,
but Bonet was recently married and expecting her first child.
In his book "Let Love Rule," Lenny Kravitz wrote about why Bonet lost her spot on the show and
finally confirmed what many had suspected. It turns out that the show's producer Debbie Allen
knew Bonet was pregnant. She also liked the idea of Bonet's character, Denise Huxtable, raising a
child as a single mother. But unfortunately for Bonet, the show's creator, Bill Cosby, did not.
As Kravitz wrote in his book, Cosby called up Bonet to issue a simple statement. He told her:
"Lisa Bonet is pregnant, but Denise Huxtable is not."
With that, Bonet was no longer a cast member on the show.
During her conversation with Tomei for Interview magazine, Bonet had some interesting remarks to
make about authenticity. Despite having racked up enough birthdays to be considered middle-aged,
Bonet insisted she was still working to discover her authentic self. Interestingly,
People magazine pointed out that the conversation took place in late
2021 — just before the announcement of her separation from Jason Momoa.
Bonet apparently referenced her changing circumstances when she responded to a
question from Tomei. When Tomei asked "What's calling you," Bonet replied,
"Definitely learning how to be authentically me, learning to be new,
and following this invitation from the universe to step into this river of uncertainty."
In fact, Bonet appeared to be in a philosophical mode throughout the entire interview with Tomei.
That was certainly the case when the two discussed their mutual interest in meditation, with Bonet
once again indicating that her circumstances were far less solid than they had been. Bonet shared,
"​​The more still we are,
the more clearly the guidance comes through in these very uncertain times."
"It's the natural quest of life, everything wants to be free."
Since the late 1980s, Bonet has worn her hair in long dreadlocks, a distinct
hairstyle that's become deeply associated with her aesthetic. She told The New York Times in 2016,
"I've had my hair in dreadlocks for a really long time. It's probably been 20-something years now."
She decided to stick with dreads because the process of keeping her
hair from knotting up typically involved spending a significant amount of time in
a salon — which she had little patience for. She also admitted that she found
other people's ignorance of dreadlocks to be funny to her. She told The New York Times,
"It's hilarious when people who don't know about dreads wonder,
'Do you wash your hair?' The answer is 'Of course.'"
In a 1987 interview with The Washington Post,
Bonet, who is multiracial, talked about her upbringing, telling the outlet,
"[I grew up] in a little white neighborhood on the wrong side of the tracks."
Her childhood, she admitted, led her to experience some confusion about
where she fit in, seeing as she was both Black and white. Bonet recalled,
"I don't know, it was really weird. Because, like, you know, the Black kids would call me 'Oreo,' and
I just didn't feel totally at home and accepted with all these, you know, white rich people."
Feeling caught in between two cultures, while accepted by neither, she found
herself enveloped in confusion. Bonet told The Washington Post,
"I had just a whole identity crisis. 'Cause I had absolutely no idea where I belonged in life."
"It's a long, long journey."
It was acting, she said, that allowed her to overcome those feelings and embrace
herself for who she was. It all began when a friend invited her to attend an acting class,
something in which Bonet admitted she had little interest, primarily due to her shyness. However,
she decided to check it out simply because she had little else going on. She added,
"So I went and the people were just so much fun that I went back."
Bill Cosby, once "America's dad," saw his image forever tarnished when he was accused of sexual
assault by more than 60 women. One of those accusations sent him to prison,
where he served three years behind bars. However, Cosby was released in 2021 after his
sexual assault conviction was overturned. While speaking with The Guardian in 2015, Zoë Kravitz
said that her mother had not addressed the scandal surrounding her one-time TV dad, explaining,
"She'd plead the fifth, even to me. I think she's just staying out of it. She's just
as disgusted and concerned as everyone else is, but I don't think she has any insight."
In 2018, Bonet broke her silence on Cosby
during her interview with Porter magazine, telling the outlet,
"There was no knowledge on my part about his specific actions,
but... There was just energy. And that type of sinister, shadow energy cannot be concealed."
Asked if she could sense a "darkness" within Cosby, she admitted she did indeed have an
intuitive feeling that something was amiss. She confirmed to the outlet,
"Always. And if I had anything more to reveal then it would have happened a long time ago."
Given the public conflicts she and Cosby experienced,
she also offered something close to an opinion, saying,
"I don't need to say,
'I told you so.' I just leave all that to karma and justice and what will be."