Robin Givens

Robin Givens, born November 27, 1964, in New York, is an American actress and director whose career has spanned television, film, stage, and, most recently, directing. Raised Catholic by her mother in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, New York, alongside her sister Stephanie, Givens attended New Rochelle Academy before enrolling at Sarah Lawrence College at age 15 as a pre-medical student, becoming one of the youngest to do so. She graduated at 19 in 1984. As a teenager, she modeled for publications including Seventeen and Mademoiselle, and made her film debut at 14 with a small role in The Wiz (1978).

Givens launched her professional acting career in the mid-1980s after a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1985, where Bill Cosby became her mentor. She subsequently appeared in Diff'rent Strokes and the 1986 television film Beverly Hills Madam opposite Faye Dunaway before landing her breakthrough role as Darlene Merriman, a wealthy student, on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class. The series ran for five seasons, concluding in 1991. While still on that show, she appeared in The Women of Brewster Place (1989) alongside Oprah Winfrey. Her feature film work during this period included A Rage in Harlem (1991) and Boomerang (1992).

Her marriage to boxer Mike Tyson on February 7, 1988, generated extensive media coverage. Givens described life with Tyson in a joint 20/20 interview with Barbara Walters in September 1988 as "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine," and detailed his volatile behavior. She filed for divorce in October 1988, citing spousal abuse, and was granted a temporary restraining order. The marriage and its dissolution remained a prominent subject of public attention. Givens later became a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for several years.

In 1994, Givens posed for Playboy magazine, writing her own accompanying article. The following year, Empire magazine ranked her No. 88 on its list of the 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History. In 1996, she co-starred in the UPN sitcom Sparks, which ran for two seasons through 1998, and appeared in the television film The Face opposite Yasmine Bleeth, portraying a character named Claudia. That same year, Givens brought her work to the stage, appearing on Broadway in the play Chicago.

Her stage work extended beyond Broadway. In 2001, she performed in an off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues. From February through April 16, 2006, she returned to Chicago on Broadway, this time in the role of Roxie Hart. In 2007, she toured nationally in the I'm Ready Productions play Men, Money & Golddiggers, and in 2009 starred in the stage play A Mother's Prayer alongside Johnny Gill, Shirley Murdock, and Jermaine Crawford. In 2011, she performed as Angel in Blues for An Alabama Sky at the Pasadena Playhouse.

In January 2000, Givens took over hosting duties on the syndicated talk show Forgive or Forget, replacing Mother Love partway through the show's second season. That same month she appeared in a cameo in Toni Braxton's music video "He Wasn't Man Enough." In June 2007, she published her autobiography Grace Will Lead Me Home, in which she reflects on her grandmother Grace, her experiences with domestic violence, her father's absence, and her faith. That year she also appeared on Larry King Live and Trinity Broadcasting Network's Praise the Lord program.

Her television work continued with recurring roles on The Game, Tyler Perry's House of Payne, and three episodes of NBC's Chuck in 2011, portraying Jane Bentley in "Chuck Versus the Masquerade," "Chuck Versus the A-Team," and "Chuck Versus the Muuurder." She also appeared in recurring and main cast roles on Riverdale, its spin-off Katy Keene, and Batwoman, in which she was cast in season three as Jada Jet, CEO of Jeturian Industries and the biological mother of Ryan Wilder, a character based on Jezebel Jet. In 2022, she appeared in the Lifetime film He's Not Worth Dying For as Cher Heinemann, a role inspired by real events involving Rachel Wade and Sarah Ludemann.

In 2020, Givens expanded her career into directing with the Lifetime mystery thriller A Murder to Remember. She subsequently directed Haunted Trail and Horror Noire (both 2021), Favorite Son (2021) and its sequel Favorite Son Christmas (2023), A Jenkins Family Christmas (2021), and The Christmas Clapback (2022), the latter four for BET+. In 2023 she directed the comedy film The Nana Project. Her television directing credits include episodes of Riverdale, Dynasty, Nancy Drew, So Help Me Todd, and Elsbeth.