Where Is the Cast of ‘A Different World’ Now? All About Their Lives Today

Lisa Bonet as Denise Huxtable

Lisa Bonet rose to fame as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, which ran from 1984 to 1992. Originally a spinoff of the NBC sitcom, A Different World first centered on Denise’s life as an undergrad at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college in Virginia.

However, Bonet only appeared in the first season of the show. In May 1988, she and her then-husband, Lenny Kravitz, announced they were expecting their first child together, and Bonet left the series.

Bonet and Kravitz’s only child, daughter Zoë Kravitz, was born on Dec. 1, 1988. Bonet rejoined The Cosby Show as a series regular in its sixth season but didn’t return for its seventh.

She took a break from acting to focus on raising Zoë before returning in 1998’s Enemy of the State alongside Will Smith, and 2000’s High Fidelity. She then guest starred on a number of shows, including Girls, Ray Donovan and New Girl.

In her personal life, Bonet and Kravitz split in 1991, officially divorcing in 1993. She married Jason Momoa, whom she met in 2005, in a secret ceremony in 2017.

They welcomed two children together, daughter Lola on July 21, 2007, and son Nakoa-Wolf on Dec. 15, 2008. The pair announced their breakup in January 2022 and finalized their divorce two years later in January 2024.

Jasmine Guy as Whitley Gilbert

During the first round of casting for A Different World, Jasmine Guy auditioned for the role of Jaleesa, per an oral history from the cast as told to Vanity Fair. When more characters were added, she went out for Whitley, who became the show’s focus in season 2. The sassy Southern belle was known for her fashion, knack for art history and on-and-off relationship (but eventually very on) with Dwayne Wayne.

Guy appeared in every episode of A Different World — and wrote some — eventually winning six NAACP Image Awards for her portrayal of Whitley.

During her time on the sitcom, she acted in 1989’s Harlem Nights and appeared on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and TV movies like Stomping’ at the Savoy and Boy Meets Girl.

After, she went on to guest star on shows like Melrose Place and Living Single, Touched by an Angel and That’s So Raven. In the aughts, she starred in Dead Like Me and The Vampire Diaries, and she was a fixture in the Atlanta theater scene.

Her most recent roles have been portraying Sylvia Wesley in the Wesley Christmas movies and as Patricia on Harlem.

Guy was married to Terrence Duckett from 1998 to 2008. The exes share one daughter, artist Imani Guy Duckette.

Kadeem Hardison as Dwayne Wayne

Kadeem Hardison guest starred on The Cosby Show before landing his breakout role as Dwayne Wayne on A Different World in 1987. Known for his flip-up sunglasses, Dwayne made being a math nerd cool, and his flirtatious antics and relationship with Whitley often took center stage.

Hardison had recently filmed School Daze with Guy and Bell when he went to see an early taping of A Different World — the focus then was on Denise, Jaleesa and Maggie, according to Vanity Fair. When more characters were added, both he and Bell auditioned for Dwayne, with the part ultimately going to Hardison.

“That final audition, getting that, gave me the confidence to sit or to be comfortable with who I was and with being nervous,” Hardison said on a January 2025 Allison Interviews appearance. “I had to figure out what to do with that nervous energy, and I decided, that, okay, this character is going to have this nervous energy, I’m going to use it on screen, let it be a strength instead of a weakness.”

After A Different World, Hardison worked steadily, with recurring roles on shows like Between Brothers, Abby and K.C. Undercover, directing four episodes of the latter.

He also directed and co-wrote 2013’s The Dark Party and was seen on the big screen in films like 1992’s White Men Can’t Jump and 1997’s Drive. He’ll next appear on Criminal.

Hardison was married to singer Chanté Moore from 1997 to 2000. The two share one child, daughter Sophia Hardison.

Dawnn Lewis as Jaleesa Vinson Taylor

Dawnn Lewis toured the Broadway show The Tap Dance Kid before landing her first major TV role as Jaleesa Vinson Taylor in A Different World, starring in the first five seasons.

The play and sitcom had the same casting directors, so they originally wanted Lewis to focus on the tour, she told Vanity Fair. However, after months of being told no, Lewis was called in for an audition and scored the part of Jaleesa, a maternal student who enrolls at Hillman after a failed marriage. She also wrote the theme song — though the musical and casting directors didn’t realize they hired the same person at first.

In 1992, Lewis left the show to join Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper, appearing in the first season of the ABC sitcom. She later guest starred on Better Call Saul and had minor recurring roles on shows like One Tree Hill, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, Major Crimes, Grey’s Anatomy and Days of Our Lives.

Lewis also appeared in films such as 2006’s Dreamgirls. In addition to acting, she is a Grammy Award-winning singer inducted into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2021.

She was married to former NBA player Johnny Newman in the mid-2000s.

Darryl M. Bell as Ron Johnson

Darryl M. Bell’s big break came in Spike Lee’s School Daze, working with his soon-to-be A Different World costars, Hardison and Guy.

Bell and Hardison played best friends Ronald “Ron” Johnson — the lovable, goofy ROTC student and musician — and Dwayne, respectively, on the sitcom. The actors were “very close off-screen,” Bell told the Chicago Tribune in 1989 — though both auditioned for the same role.

The Illinois native first appeared on the show as an unnamed student in episode 4, winning producers over. The role of Ron was created shortly after, which Bell earned after a chemistry read with Hardison, per Vanity Fair. He went on to portray the character for all six seasons.

Now, Bell is mindful of the sitcom’s lasting legacy.

“I think what I’m most proud of is, irrespective of how difficult some subject matter may have been, A Different World was always funny,” Bell told PEOPLE in June 2024. “We approached everything through the lens of humor.”

After A Different World ended, Bell starred on the short-lived sci-fi show Homeboys in Outer Space. He has appeared in 2000’s Brother and was the voice of Bravo Leader in the 2003 video game X2: Wolverine’s Revenge.

Bell has been in a long-term relationship with Cosby Show star Tempestt Bledsoe for three decades. The couple appeared together on the 2009 Fox reality show Househusbands of Hollywood.

Charnele Brown as Kimberly Reese

Charnele Brown had her first major TV role as Kimberly Reese, Whitley’s studious pre-med roommate, in season 2 of A Different World. Kim was best friends with Whitley and Freddie (Cree Summer) and briefly dated Ron.

She has continued to act, appearing in episodes of Living Single, Girlfriends, My Wife and Kids and 5th Ward, as well as in films like 1994’s Drop Squad and 2023’s The Reading. She is also a writer and producer, writing and starring in the 2020 TV movie BKS, Best Kept Secret and 2021’s Changes.

Brown lives in Houston, where she has run the Charlene Brown Acting Academy at Yates High School since 2000.

Cree Summer as Winifred “Freddie” Brooks

Cree Summer joined the cast in season 2 as Winifred “Freddie” Brooks, Jaleesa’s free-spirited roommate on A Different World.

Summer has since had a very successful voice acting career. Her more than 300 credits include video games, films like 2003’s Blizzard, 2009’s Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey! and 2011’s Atlantis: The Lost Empire and animated shows like Vampirina, Voltron: Legendary Defender and The Patrick Star Show. She also has a recurring role on Abbott Elementary.

In her personal life, Summer met her ex-husband Angelo Pullen when she was 40, and the pair were together for what she told StyleLikeU in 2022, per Essence, was a “good” near-decade. They share two children, daughters Brave Littlewing, born in 2011, and Hero Peregrine, born in 2013.

Sinbad as Coach Walter Oakes

Born David Adkins, the actor and comedian is known by his stage name, Sinbad. After nabbing a stand-up role and guest spot on The Cosby Show, he was cast as Coach Walter Oakes on A Different World, per Vanity Fair.

Not only was he the director of Gilbert Hall, the boldly dressed and funny Walter coached football, basketball, baseball and track. Sinbad was touring with Luther Vandross and Anita Baker and hosting Showtime at the Apollo while filming, per the outlet, and it became too much — he left in season 4, hoping to transition to movies and his own TV show.

He did get his own sitcom in 1993, The Sinbad Show, and appeared in comedies like 1996’s Jingle All the Way and First Kid and 1997’s Good Burger. He also hosted the talk show Vibe and wrote a self-help book, 1998’s Sinbad’s Guide to Life (Because I Know Everything).

Sinbad has headlined HBO comedy specials, including 1993’s Afros & Bellbottoms, and continued to tour. He most recently made cameos on Atlanta and in 2023’s Good Burger 2.

He and wife Meredith Fuller Adkins married in 1986. They have two children together, daughter Paige and son Royce, and are grandparents. Sinbad and Meredith divorced in 1992 but remarried in 2002, and they appeared together with their kids on the WeTV reality show, Sinbad: It’s Just Family.

Sinbad suffered a stroke in November 2020. He made a virtual appearance during the A Different World cast’s HBCU tour in 2024, thanking fans via Instagram for their “prayers, support, and positive thoughts.”

Lou Myers as Vernon Gaines

Lou Myers is best known for his portrayal of Vernon Gaines, the grumpy, feisty military vet who owns the Pit, in A Different World.

Following the sitcom, Myers appeared in films like 1996’s Tin Cup, 1997’s Volcano and 2001’s The Wedding Planner and had guest spots on various shows from The Sinbad Show to NYPD Blue. His last film role was in 2013’s Dreams.

Myers continued to perform on Broadway, including in Oprah Winfrey’s production of The Color Purple and winning an NAACP Image Award for his portrayal of Stool Pigeon in King Hedley II.

Myers died in 2013 from pneumonia. He was 77. He was survived by one son, Melvin Myers, and two grandsons, Brayden and Christian.

Glynn Turman as Colonel Brad Taylor

Glynn Turman was touring the play I’m Not Rappaport when he auditioned for the role of Colonel Brad Taylor on A Different World. Joining the cast in season 2, Col. Taylor was a math teacher nicknamed Mr. War who later married Jaleesa.

Turman’s career continued to shine after the sitcom. He had recurring roles on shows like The Wire, How to Get Away With Murder and Fargo and was a main cast member on House of Lies. He won an Emmy in 2008 for his guest role on HBO’s In Treatment.

On the big screen, Turner appeared in films like 2000’s Men of Honor, 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and 2023’s 80 for Brady. He was last seen in the 2024 mini-series The Big Cigar and an episode of Hulu’s Paradise.

Turman was previously married to Ula M. Walker and the late Aretha Franklin, from 1978 to 1984. He has been with his third wife, realtor Jo-Ann Allen, since 1992. He has four children.

Marisa Tomei as Maggie Lauten

Marisa Tomei scored the role of Maggie Lauten on A Different World.

“It seems like another planet. It was a highlight, for sure. I really, really enjoyed it. I had a really good time on that,” she said on the Today show in 2024, adding that the only downside, however, was Maggie’s auburn wavy shag and bangs were an “unforgivable haircut.”

Tomei was only on the first season of A Different World. She rose to fame with 1992’s My Cousin Vinny, winning an Academy Award for her portrayal of Mona Lisa Vito. She received two more Oscar nominations for 2001’s In the Bedroom and 2008’s The Wrestler.

A founding member of the Naked Angels Theater Company, Tomei made her Broadway debut opposite Quentin Tarantino in 1998’s Wait Until Dark.

The actress and producer has become a fixture in the Marvel universe, playing Peter Parker’s aunt May in the Spider-Man franchise. In recent years, Tomei has also appeared in 2020’s The King of Staten Island, 2023’s She Came to Me and 2024’s Upgraded.

Loretta Devine as Stevie Rallen

Loretta Devine had a successful stage career before being cast on A Different World, including originating the role of Lorrell in the 1981 Tony-winning Broadway musical Dreamgirls. (She had a small part in the 2006 film adaptation.)

The Emmy award-winning actress only appeared in 10 episodes of season 1, but her acting career since has been prolific. She went on to star in Boston Public and Grey’s Anatomy, and has appeared in films like 1998’s Urban Legend and 2004’s Crash.

Devine met her husband, Glenn Marshall, when she was in her 50s. In December 2024, she told PEOPLE that she’s “sort of like a loner” but is “really crafty,” knitting and crocheting in her spare time.