When The Cosby Show first aired on NBC in 1984, Tempestt Bledsoe, who played the third oldest daughter Vanessa Huxtable, was only ten years old. Over the years, her character was quite relatable to teenagers; talking on the phone too much, went through teenage heartbreak, and generally broke her parents’ rules such as wearing makeup before they allowed her to.
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Yet, the end of The Cosby Show in 1992 didn’t signify the end of her career on television. She went on to appear in episodes of A Different World, The Tempesst Bledsoe talk show, episodes of BET’s The Parkers, ABC’s The Practice, and a host of other shows. She even competed in VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club for a season! On the premiere, she insisted, “I’m not concerned about pounds – I want to reduce my body-fat percentage to, say, 25 percent.” Bledsoe eventually lost 19 pounds.
Her personal life also seem to have flourished. She’s been happily unmarried for 19 years to live-in boyfriend, Darryl M. Bell, remembered as Ron Johnson, Jr. from A Different World.Both Chicago natives, Bledsoe and Bell began their courtship five years after meeting during Beldsoe’s guest appearance on A Different World in 1989. After Bell lost his father’s billions at the age of 24 years old, Bledsoe a graduate of New York University’s prestigious Stern School of Business helped him pick up the pieces and stabilize his finances. Although a private couple, the two emerged once more in the limelight for Fox’s 2009 reality show, Househusbands of Hollywood, which highlighted husbands of successful career women handling the household duties. Ultimately, this couple has stood by each other through adversity and continues to experience laughter and happiness.
When asked what keeps them together for so long, without marriage, Bledsoe replies, “I think we are very compatible. I think that is really the heart of it. People ask us what it is. I think a lot of couples find themselves together and find out that they are not really a good match. And laughter is also very important.”
From 2011-2013, Bledsoe hosted Clean House, a home makeover and interior design show. Tempestt revealed how rewarding the experience is of helping people with such a grand task. “I love helping people put their homes in…
… order. Whenever someone says, ‘you’ve changed my life’, you can’t replace that.” No matter what adult role she lands, Bledsoe’s Cosby Show character is the most adored. “A woman told me just the other day how much she loves watching reruns of the show with her grandchildren,” she says. “That feels really good.” Tempestt enjoys the recognition of her character from 31 years ago because she understands the cultural significance and long lasting impact that the show had on television.
“We were brought up on a set that is just incomparable as far as what kind of set you want to have kids on. It was the best set in the world. We were very protected and sheltered. The Cosby Show changed America’s opinion on so many different topics and opened so many peoples’ eyes and, so, you really learned immediately the power of what you were doing, that there was a power in portraying a role and you were made aware of the effect that it could have on people so it does raise the bar… We were brought up with incredible examples, especially with Phylicia Rashad and Dr. Cosby, as far as seeing how they carried themselves and how they lived their lives.”
Amidst the allegations surrounding Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashad (Claire Huxtable) also explains the importance of the show’s legacy. “We’re talking about a legacy that inspired a generation of young people to consider and pursue a higher education. We’re talking a legacy that introduced and portrayed American culture in its diversity. It’s difficult for me to watch this legacy be erased as if it never happened.”
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