Lisa Bonet: I Struggled With Being Biracial

Lisa Bonet

Lisa Bonet: I Struggled With Being Bi-Racial

Actress Lisa Bonét, of The Cosby Show and A Different World fame, is revealing some of the intimate details about life away from the camera. Although she’s managed to shy away from the limelight for decades, she remains famous for being one of Hollywood’s most memorable and eclectic it-girls, perhaps paving the way for starlets like Zendaya Coleman, Yara Shahidi, and, of course, her daughter Zoë Kravitz. Peep a few excerpts from the interview.

The advice she’d give her younger self on self-acceptance as a biracial woman:

The world wasn’t ready for what I represented, the merging of these two races…I didn’t always feel welcome – in my mom’s family, in my school. So I sheltered myself by always withholding a bit, because I didn’t always feel safe. Try not to internalize the disdain and hate that was projected onto me.

On why she wasn’t more popular:

I don’t know! I always had one foot in and one foot out of the business, so that’s part of it. But also, it’s slim pickings out there! There aren’t endless opportunities for women of color, you’ve probably noticed.

On what’s next for her career:

Acting is how I’ve forged my way, but I don’t think it’s my passion. Maybe directing. I write also…I have ideas. There’s a movie, a children’s TV show, and a documentary short. I feel that I have the soul of an artist, but I don’t know yet which medium.

By:@Miata_Shanay