Early life

Givens was born in New York City, to Ruth Roper (née Newby) and Reuben Givens, who divorced when she was two. Her mother raised Givens and her sister Stephanie in Mount Vernon and New Rochelle, New York. Givens graduated from New Rochelle Academy (a N-12 private school which closed in June 1987), and enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College at age 15. She graduated in 1984.

Career

1980s-1990s

Givens first began acting in 1985 with an appearance on The Cosby Show, followed by roles in Diff'rent Strokes and the 1986 television film Beverly Hills Madam, opposite Faye Dunaway. That same year, she landed her breakthrough role as rich girl Darlene Merriman on the ABC sitcom Head of the Class. 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, she posed nude for Playboy magazine and was ranked #88 on Empire Magazine's 100 Sexiest Stars in Film History list in May 1995. 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 series ended its run in 1998. She also played Denise in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

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. 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. Ratings initially increased after Givens took over hosting duties, but soon fell. The series was canceled after this season.

In 2006, Givens attempted a return to television on MyNetworkTV's telenovela Saints and Sinners, 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.

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. From February to April 16, 2006, she played the role of Roxie Hart in the Broadway play Chicago. 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. 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. 2015 starred along Clifton Powell, Mishon Ratliff and Malachi Malik in the segment Mama's Boy of TV One's anthology romance horror film Fear Files.

Personal life

After meeting in March 1986, Givens married boxer Mike Tyson on February 7, 1988. Tyson was then estimated to have US$50 million, and he and Givens did not make a prenuptial agreement. During their marriage, Givens and her mother bought a $4.6 million mansion in the affluent suburb of Bernardsville, New Jersey.

After a miscarriage in May 1988, the marriage began to fall apart. Givens alleged spousal abuse, while Tyson alleged alienation and interest in his money, not in him. The marriage ended on Valentine's Day, just a year later. Newspapers reported that Givens received a divorce settlement of over $10 million from her marriage to Tyson. She later denied the report, stating: "I didn’t receive one dime". She received negative press following her split from Tyson, particularly within the African American community. One article, in particular, described her as "the most hated woman in America".

In 1993, Givens adopted her first son, Michael. In 1997, she married her tennis instructor, Svetozar Marinković; Givens filed for divorce months later. In 1999, she had a second son, William, with ex-boyfriend, Murphy Jensen.

Legal issues

In January 2004, Givens critically injured an 89-year-old pedestrian, Maria Antonia Alcover, while driving an SUV through a Miami, Florida intersection. Givens was ticketed for failing to use due care with a pedestrian in a crosswalk, but the charges were later dismissed. In June 2004, Alcover filed a civil lawsuit against Givens and her sister (the owner of the SUV Givens was driving) for an unknown amount.

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, which includes 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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	Wiz, TheThe Wiz	Guest at Aunt Emma's Party	Uncredited
1991	Rage in Harlem, AA Rage in Harlem	Imabelle
1992	Boomerang	Jacqueline "Jackie/Jack" Broyer
1994	Foreign Student	April
1994	Blankman	Kimberly Jonz
1995	Dangerous Intentions	Kaye Ferrar
1998	Secrets
2000	Everything's Jake	Publisher
2001	Elite, TheThe Elite	Ashe
2002	Book of Love	Iyanna
2002	Antibody	Dr. Rachel Saverini	Direct-to-video release
2003	Head of State	Kim
2003	Good Night To Die	Dana
2003	Love Chronicles	Monifa Burly
2005	Flip The Script	Rain Jones
2006	Restraining Order	Diane McNeil
2008	Queen of Media	Wendy Williams
2008	The Family That Preys	Abigail "Abby" Dexter
2008	Little Hercules In 3-D	Dana
2009	Mother's Prayer, AA Mother's Prayer	Brenda	Direct-to-DVD release
2010	Enemies Among Us	Gloria	Direct-to-DVD release
2012	Unspoken Words	Mrs. Lewis	Direct-to-DVD release
2012	Double Sided	Miranda Johnson	Direct-to-DVD release
2014	Airplane Vs Volcano	Dr. Whitmore
2016	God's Not Dead 2	Principal Kinney

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show	Susanne	Episode: "Theo and the Older Woman"
1986	Diff'rent Strokes	Ann	Episode: "The Big Bribe"
1986	Beverly Hills Madam	April Baxter	Television movie
1986	Philip Marlowe, Private Eye	Token Ware	Episode: "Pickup on Noon Street"
1986-1991	Head of the Class	Darlene Merriman	114 episodes
1989	Penthouse, TheThe Penthouse	Dinah St. Clair	Television movie
1989	Women of Brewster Place, TheThe Women of Brewster Place	Kiswana	Miniseries
1992	Angel Street	Det. Anita King	Television movie
1992	Angel Street	Det. Anita King	Unknown episodes
1995	Me and the Boys	Nina	3 episodes
1995	Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, TheThe Fresh Prince of Bel-Air	Denise	Episode: "Cold Feet, Hot Body"
1995	Courthouse	Suzanne Graham	11 episodes
1996	In the House	Alex	3 episodes
1996	A Face to Die For	Claudia	Television movie
1996-1998	Sparks	Wilma Cuthbert	40 episodes
1997	Moesha	Ladonna	Episode: "Strike a Pose"
1999	Love Boat: The Next Wave, TheThe Love Boat: The Next Wave	Dana Chase	Episode: "Don't Judge a Book by Its Lover"
1999	Michael Jordan: An American Hero	Juanita Vanoy/Juanita Jordan	Television movie
1999	Cosby	Ms. Malone	2 episodes
2000	Expendables, TheThe Expendables	Randy	Television movie
2000	Chicken Soup for the Soul	Counselor	Episode: "The Right Thing"
2000	DAG	Jennifer	Episode: "Jennifer Returns"
2001	Spinning Out of Control	Erin	Television movie
2003	Hollywood Wives: The New Generation	Kyndra	Television movie
2003-2004	One on One	Sheila	2 episodes
2005	Captive Hearts	Jade Marlo	Television movie
2008	Tyler Perry's House of Payne	Tanya	6 episodes
2008	Burn Notice	Kandi	Episode: "Scatter Point"
2008	Game, TheThe Game	Herself	7 episodes
2008	Everybody Hates Chris	Stacy	Episode: "Everybody Hates Doc's"
2010	My Parents, My Sister & Me	Keela Goldman	7 episodes
2010	Drop Dead Diva	Ann Simpson	Episode: "A Mother's Secret"
2010	Nikita	Mary Miracle	Episode "All the Way"
2011	Chuck	Jane Bentley	3 episodes
2011	Reed Between the Lines	Dominique	Episode: "Let's Talk About Jealousy"
2012	Suburgatory	Tulsa	Episode: "Independence Day"
2012	Retired at 35	Dr. Keller	Episode: "The Dates"
2013	90210	Cheryl	3 episodes
2013-2014	Twisted	Judy	Recurring Role
2016	Man Seeking Woman	Vicki Claus	Episode: "Tinsel"

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

Bibliography

• Givens, Robin (June 7, 2007). Grace Will Lead Me Home. New York: Miramax. ISBN 1-4013-5246-4.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]