fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Robin Simone Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American actress, model, and director. She is also a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.[1]

Robin Givens
Born	Robin Simone Givens (1964-11-27) November 27, 1964 (age 57) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Sarah Lawrence College
Occupation	Actress, model, director
Years active	1978–present
Spouses	Mike Tyson ​ ​ (m. 1988; div. 1989)​ Svetozar Marinković ​ ​ (m. 1997; div. 1998)​
Partner(s)	Murphy Jensen (1999–2002)
Children	2

Givens landed her breakthrough role of Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class in 1986, and remained on the series for its 5-year duration. Her troubled marriage to boxer Mike Tyson from 1988[2][3] drew considerable media attention, as did their acrimonious divorce. She later went on to become a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for several years.[4]

Givens continued her career with film and television roles such as The Women of Brewster Place (1989) and Boomerang (1992). In 1996, Givens co-starred on the sitcom Sparks, which aired for two seasons on UPN. In January 2000, she took over hosting duties on the syndicated talk show Forgive or Forget. In 2007, Givens released her autobiography, Grace Will Lead Me Home. She has since had recurring roles on The Game, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, Chuck, Riverdale[5] and its spin-off Katy Keene and has been part of the main cast of Batwoman.

Early life

Givens was born in New York City, to Ruth Roper (née Newby) and Reuben Givens,[6] who divorced when she was two.^{[citation needed]} Her mother raised Givens and her sister Stephanie in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, New York.[7] Givens was raised Catholic.[8] She occasionally modeled and acted as a teen.[9] As a model, she appeared in magazines such as Seventeen and Mademoiselle. She made her film debut at age 14 in the film The Wiz (1978) as a guest at Aunt Emma's Party .

Givens graduated from New Rochelle Academy (a private school which closed in June 1987). At the age of 15, she enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College as a pre-medical major, becoming one of the youngest to attend the school.[7][9] While in school she acted in daytime dramas.[7] She graduated at the age of 19 in 1984.[10] Givens claimed to have dropped out of Harvard Medical School to focus on her acting career, but the registrar's office stated that she never applied.[1] It was later reported that she took courses at Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.[11]

Career

1980s–1990s

In 1985, Givens auditioned for a guest spot on The Cosby Show. She won the spot and Bill Cosby became her mentor.[9] He persuaded her to drop out of school and promised that if she wasn't successful in two years, he'd get her back into medical school and pay her tuition.[7] Soon after Givens appeared in Diff'rent Strokes and the 1986 television film Beverly Hills Madam, opposite Faye Dunaway.[7] That same year, she landed her breakthrough role as rich girl Darlene Merriman on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class.[7] The series lasted five seasons, ending in 1991. In 1989, while starring in Head of the Class, she appeared in The Women of Brewster Place with Oprah Winfrey. She later appeared in Boomerang (1992).

In 1994, Givens posed nude for Playboy magazine.[12] During that period Givens felt she had lost her voice, so one of the reasons why she posed for the magazine was so that she could write her own article.[13] Givens was ranked No. 88 on Empire magazine's "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History" list in May 1995.[14] In 1996, Givens portrayed Claudia in the television movie The Face (also known as A Face to Die For) with Yasmine Bleeth. Later that year, she co-starred in the UPN sitcom Sparks, which ended its run in 1998.[15][16] She also played Denise in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.[17]

2000s–2010s

In January 2000, Givens appeared in a cameo in Toni Braxton's music video "He Wasn't Man Enough", as the wife of a cheating husband.[18] She returned to the entertainment industry later that year as the host of the talk show Forgive or Forget, replacing television personality Mother Love halfway through the show's second season. Ratings initially increased after Givens took over hosting duties,[19] but soon fell. The series was canceled after this season.[20]

In 2006, Givens attempted a return to television on MyNetworkTV's telenovela Saints and Sinners,[21] but the show garnered low ratings and was soon canceled. Givens continued acting in made-for-television films while also making appearances on Trinity Broadcasting Network's Praise the Lord program (July 12, 2007), and Larry King Live. In June 2007, she released her autobiography Grace Will Lead Me Home.[22] Givens returned to feature films in Tyler Perry's Southern drama The Family That Preys (2008). She also had a recurring role portraying a fictionalized version of herself on the CW comedy-drama The Game. Additionally, she has had a recurring role on the TBS show Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and a guest role on USA Network's Burn Notice. In addition to television and film roles, Givens has performed onstage. In 2001, she appeared in an off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues.[23] From February to April 16, 2006, she played the role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway play Chicago.[24] In 2007, she toured the country playing a part in the I'm Ready Productions play Men, Money & Golddiggers. Givens starred in the 2009 stage play A Mother's Prayer, which also starred Johnny Gill, Shirley Murdock, and Jermaine Crawford.

In 2007, Givens published a memoir entitled Grace Will Lead Me Home. In it, she reflects on the life of her praying grandmother, Grace, her experiences of domestic violence, her strong will to survive, feeling abandoned by her father, and her faith in God.[25] In 2011, she guest-starred in three episodes of NBC's spy-comedy Chuck: "Chuck Versus the Masquerade", "Chuck Versus the A-Team", and "Chuck Versus the Muuurder", as Jane Bentley. Later that year, she performed as Angel, a struggling blues singer, in the play Blues for An Alabama Sky at Pasadena Playhouse.[11] In 2015, she starred alongside Clifton Powell, Mishon Ratliff, and Malachi Malik in the segment "Mama's Boy" of TV One's anthology romance horror film Fear Files.[26]

Givens was the spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for several years.[4][13]

In 2017, the actress hosted the San Diego Black Film Festival as she had for the several previous years.[27]

In 2021, Givens was cast in season three of Batwoman as Jada Jet, the CEO of Jeturian Industries and Ryan Wilder's biological mother who is based on Jezebel Jet.[28]

In 2022, Givens appeared in the Lifetime film He's Not Worth Dying For as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature films that was inspired by the feud of Rachel Wade and Sarah Ludemann. She portrayed Cher Heinemann, the mother of Grace Heinemann who was based on Ludemann.[29]

Personal life

Givens began dating boxer Mike Tyson in 1987.[7] According to Givens, Tyson was physically abusive before they wed on February 7, 1988.[2][30] Tyson stated that he was "severely traumatized by that relationship."[31] Tyson was then estimated to have $50 million; he and Givens did not have a prenuptial agreement.[32][33] During their marriage, Givens bought a $4.3 million mansion in the affluent suburb of Bernardsville, New Jersey with money withdrawn from his brokerage account.[34][35][36] They appeared in a Diet Pepsi commercial together and on the cover of Life magazine.[37][38]

After her miscarriage in June 1988, their marriage began to fall apart.[39][40] Tyson claims Givens's pregnancy (and miscarriage) was a ruse only to rush him to the wedding altar, noting that in all the time she was supposedly pregnant Givens never gained a pound.[41] In a joint interview with Tyson on 20/20 in September 1988, Givens told Barbara Walters that life with him was "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine," and she went on to describe his volatile temper.[42] In October 1988, Givens filed for divorce, citing spousal abuse and was granted a temporary restraining order.[37] Her attorney Marvin Mitchelson said, "She loves Michael Tyson, but there is continued violence, and she fears for her safety."[32] Tyson sought an annulment, accusing her of stealing millions of dollars and manipulating the public.[43] Givens responded by filing a $125 million libel suit for defamation.[44] Their divorce was finalized on Valentine's Day in 1989.[30]

Givens received negative press following her split from Tyson, particularly within sports and the African American community.[45][46][3] Headlines heralded her as "the Most Hated Woman in America" and she was described as a "gold digger who married Tyson solely for his millions."[47][48] Givens denied that she received a reported divorce settlement of over $10 million from Tyson, stating that she "didn't receive one dime."[49][50]

According to the 1989 biography Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson, Tyson admitted he punched Givens, stating "that was the best punch I've ever thrown in my entire life."[51] Tyson later claimed the book was "filled with inaccuracies."[52] In 2009, Tyson joked about "socking" Givens on Oprah, which caused laughter in the audience. Winfrey later issued an apology to Givens.[4]

In 1993, Givens adopted her first son Michael "Buddy" Givens.[53] In 1997, she married her tennis instructor, Svetozar Marinković. Givens filed for divorce months later.[14] In 1999, she had a second son, William "Billy" Jensen, with ex-boyfriend, tennis player Murphy Jensen.[54]

In January 2004, Givens struck a pedestrian while driving an SUV through a Miami, Florida, intersection.[55] Givens was ticketed for failing to use due care with a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but the charges were later dismissed.[56] In June 2004, the injured party filed a civil lawsuit against Givens for an unspecified amount.[57]

A May 7, 2009, article in Forbes magazine reported that the Internal Revenue Service was suing Givens for unpaid federal income taxes totaling $292,000 ($369,000 in present-day USD when adjusted for inflation), an amount which included interest and penalties. The government had asked a federal court in Florida for a judgment against her on 39 assessments covering a span of eight years.[58]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	The Wiz	Guest at Aunt Emma's Party
1991	A Rage in Harlem	Imabelle
1992	Boomerang	Jacqueline Broyer
1994	Foreign Student	April
	Blankman	Kimberly Jonz
1995	Dangerous Intentions	Kaye Ferrar
1998	Secrets		Short
2000	Everything's Jake	Publisher
2001	The Elite	Ashe
2002	Book of Love	Iyanna
	Antibody	Dr. Rachel Saverini	Video
2003	Head of State	Kim
	A Good Night to Die	Dana
	Love Chronicles	Monifa Burly
2005	Flip The Script	Rain Jones
2006	Restraining Order	Diane McNeil
2008	The Family That Preys	Abigail "Abby" Dexter
2009	God Send Me a Man	Kim
	Little Hercules In 3-D	Dana
	Sounds of Poetry	Eleanor	Short
	Preaching to the Pastor	Dr. Leslie Williams
	A Mother's Prayer	Brenda	Video
2010	Enemies Among Us	Gloria
2011	Church Girl	Cat
	Should've Put a Ring on It	Sherri
	Breathe	Nurse Nancy
	Queen of Media	Wendy Williams
2012	Waiting for Angels	Jack's daughter	Video
2013	Je'Caryous Johnson's Marriage Material	Shauna
	Will a Man Rob God?		Video
	JK's House	Dr. Amber Jenkins
2014	Airplane Vs Volcano	Lisa Whitmore	Video
	Four Seasons	Helen
	Unspoken Words	Mrs. Lewis
2015	A Christmas to Remember	Veronica
2016	Definitely Divorcing	April
	The Perfect Match	Geneva
	God's Not Dead 2	Principal Kinney
2017	Dreams I Never Had	Prosecuting Attorney Hernandez
2018	The Products of the American Ghetto	Penny
	God Bless the Broken Road	Kareena Williams
	Never Heard	Shala Davis
2019	Gully	Irma
	Mina Tobias: Shoes		Video short
2020	The Sin Choice
2022	Kimi	Angela's mother

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Cosby Show	Susanne	Episode: "Theo and the Older Woman"
	Guiding Light	Diana	Episode: "Episode #1.9784"
1986	Diff'rent Strokes	Ann	Episode: "The Big Bribe"
	Philip Marlowe, Private Eye	Token Ware	Episode: "Pickup on Noon Street"
	Beverly Hills Madam	April Baxter	TV Movie
1986–91	Head of the Class	Darlene Merriman	Main Cast
1988	Sonny Spoon	Alvita	Episode: "Crimes Below the Waist"
1989	The Women of Brewster Place	Kiswana / Melanie Browne	TV Miniseries
1989	The Penthouse	Dinah St. Clair	Television film
1992	Angel Street	Detective Anita King	Main Cast
1993	Angel Street	Detective Anita King	Television film
1995	Me and the Boys	Nina	Episode: "Goldilocks" & "The B Word"
	The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Denise	Episode: "Cold Feet, Hot Body"
	Courthouse	Suzanne Graham	Main Cast
1996	In the House	Alex Peterson	Recurring Cast: Season 2
1996	A Face to Die For	Claudia	Television film
1996–98	Sparks	Wilma Cuthbert	Main Cast
1997	Moesha	Ladonna	Episode: "Strike a Pose"
1999	The Love Boat: The Next Wave	Dana Chase	Episode: "Don't Judge a Book by Its Lover"
	Cosby	Ms. Malone	Episode: "Afterschool Delight" & "The Vesey Method"
	Michael Jordan: An American Hero	Juanita Vanoy/Juanita Jordan	Television film
2000	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Counselor	Episode: "The Right Thing"
	DAG	Jennifer	Episode: "Jennifer Returns"
	The Expendables	Randy	Television film
2001	Spinning Out of Control	Erin	Television film
2003	Hollywood Wives: The New Generation	Kyndra	Television film
2003–04	One on One	Sheila	Episode: "Spy Games" & "Spy Games Reloaded"
2005	Captive Hearts	Jade Marlo	Television film
2007	Saints & Sinners	Kelly Mitchell	Episode: "Plumbing Problems"
2008	Tyler Perry's House of Payne	Tanya	Recurring Cast: Season 2-4
	The Game	Herself	Recurring Cast: Season 2-3
	Burn Notice	Kandi	Episode: "Scatter Point"
	Everybody Hates Chris	Stacy	Episode: "Everybody Hates Doc's"
	The Verdict	Ayira	TV Movie
2010	My Parents, My Sister & Me	Keela Goldman	Main Cast
	Drop Dead Diva	Ann Simpson	Episode: "A Mother's Secret"
	Nikita	Mary Miracle	Episode: "All the Way"
2011	Chuck	Jane Bentley	Recurring Cast: Season 4
	Reed Between the Lines	Dominique	Episode: "Let's Talk About Jealousy"
	The Love You Save	Alexis	Television film
	Tagged	Marleeza Dinkins	Television film
2012	Suburgatory	Tulsa	Episode: "Independence Day"
	Retired at 35	Dr. Keller	Episode: "The Dates"
2013	90210	Cheryl Harwood	Recurring Cast: Season 5
	Twisted	Judy	Recurring Cast
	The First Family	Melanie	Episode: "The First Pageant"
2015	Fear Files	Elaine Channing	Television film
	Perfect Match	Wedding Coordinator	Television film
2016	Man Seeking Woman	Vicki Claus	Episode: "Tinsel"
	Lucifer	Leila Simms	Episode: "Sin-Eater"
2017	About Him 2: The Revolution	Dr. Alfeni Henderson	Main Cast
	Malibu Dan the Family Man	Jessica Dankles	Recurring Cast
2017–18	Once Upon a Time	Eudora	Episode: "Greenbacks" & "A Taste of the Heights"
2017–21	Riverdale	Sierra McCoy	Recurring Cast
2018	Saints & Sinners	Wilhelmina Hayworth	Recurring Cast: Season 3
	The Bold and the Beautiful	Dr. Phillips	Regular Role
2019	The Fix	Julianne Johnson	Recurring Cast
	Ambitions	Stephanie Carlisle	Main Cast
2020	Katy Keene	Sierra McCoy	Episode: "Chapter Six: Mama Said"
2020	Dear Christmas	Penny	Television film
2021-22	Batwoman	Jada Jet	Main Cast: Season 3
2021	Head of the Class	Darlene	Episode: "Moms Be Momming" & "YOLO"
	Queens	Robin	Episode: "Let the Past Be the Past"
	Saints & Sinners Judgment Day	Wilhelmina Parker	Television film
2022	He's Not Worth Dying For	Cher Heinemann	Television film

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Film
1991	ShoWest Convention, USA	Won	Female Star of Tomorrow
2004	Black Reel Awards	Nominated	Television: Best Supporting Actress	Hollywood Wives: The New Generation

Books

• Givens, Robin (June 7, 2007). Grace Will Lead Me Home. New York: Miramax. ISBN 978-1-4013-5246-2.

References

External links

• Robin Givens at IMDb
• Robin Givens at the Internet Broadway Database
• Robin Givens at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Robin Givens at AllMovie

На других языках

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[de] Robin Givens

Robin Simone Givens (* 27. November 1964 in New York City, New York) ist eine US-amerikanische Schauspielerin.

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- [en] Robin Givens

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[es] Robin Givens

Robin Simone Givens (Nueva York; 27 de noviembre de 1964) es una actriz estadounidense, principalmente reconocida por su papel como Darlene Merriman en la serie de ABC, Head of the Class.

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[ru] Гивенс, Робин

Робин Симона Гивенс (англ. Robin Simone Givens, род. 27 ноября 1964 (1964-11-27)) — американская актриса, писательница и бывшая модель.

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