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| Robin Givens |
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"I want someone who can handle me. And I'm not the easiest person to handle."
| Date of Birth: November 27, 1964 |
| Birthplace: New York |
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| Robin Givens achieved fame in the late 1980s as the star of TV's Head of the Class, and as the one-time wife of boxer Mike Tyson. More recently, she's become a solid supporting player in comedies like Boomerang (1992) and Head of State (2003). |
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| We can't get enough of Robin Givens' classy beauty, tough outlook, and gritty determination. Plus, we can't help but respect her staying power in Hollywood despite some unfortunate setbacks, both personal and professional. |
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Robin Simone Givens was born in New York, New York, on November 27, 1964. Her father, Reuben, abandoned his family when Robin was a little girl, leaving Robin's mother, Ruth, to raise her and her younger sister Stephanie alone in Westchester, Connecticut.
Ruth was supportive of her children's interest in the arts, and Robin took violin lessons before deciding to try acting. At age 10, Robin began to take acting classes at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York. In 1978, she made her unaccredited debut as an extra in The Wiz.
In 1980, Robin enrolled in the pre-med program at Sarah Lawrence College. However, by her junior year, she had decided to pursue acting full-time. She landed a guest appearance on The Cosby Show in 1985, the hottest show on television at the time. As an added boost to her career, she befriended Bill Cosby himself, who supported her progress.
The next year she appeared on Diff'rent Strokes, and became famous as a regular on the new ABC sitcom Head of the Class, in which she played Darlene Merriman, a gifted high school student.
In 1988, Robin Givens gained even more notoriety when she married boxing champion Mike Tyson. But rumors soon spread about abuse and infidelity in the marriage, and the two divorced on Valentine's Day the following year.
Meanwhile, Robin was beginning a successful foray into movies. She had already appeared in the TV movie Beverly Hills Madam (1986), and then went on to star in the made-for-TV flick The Penthouse (1989), the film A Rage in Harlem (1991) and the hit comedy Boomerang (1992), opposite Eddie Murphy.
The mid-'90s saw Robin working steadily, but she was more under the radar. She appeared in the movies Blankman (1994) and Secrets (1998), and a number of TV movies such as A Face to Die For (1996) and Michael Jordan: An American Hero (1999). Robin also starred in many ill-fated TV shows during this time, including Angel Street, Courthouse and Sparks. Throughout the mid-'90s, she guest starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, In the House, Moesha, and Cosby.
In 1997, Robin married again, this time to her tennis instructor, Svetozar Marinkovic. The match proved even more disastrous than that with Mike Tyson, as Robin and Marinkovic separated the very day they were married, and within months, Robin filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences.
But in spite of her rocky relationships, Robin is the mother of two sons, Michael (born in 1992) and William (born in 1999; father is tennis pro Murphy Jensen).
Robin's public profile was on the rise in the new millennium, although not always for good things. She replaced Mother Love on the TV talk show Forgive or Forget in 2000, which was canceled only a few months later: Mother Love's devoted audience apparently failed to accept Robin, and Robin herself had inadvertently offended Mother Love when she appeared on The Howard Stern Show.
Her most recent films include the Chris Rock comedy Head of State (2003) and the TV movie Hollywood Wives: The New Generation (2003), and she's currently filming Forbidden, due in 2005.
Robin Givens' most recent claim to fame is one she might regret. In January 2004, she struck and seriously injured an 89-year-old woman with her SUV in Miami. Although police ruled the collision accidental, Robin was issued a traffic summons for failing to use due care when a pedestrian was crossing at an intersection. Robin, who stayed with the woman as help was on the way, pleaded not guilty to the charge in traffic court, and the case will be judged in September 2004. Nevertheless, the woman is suing Robin and her sister, who owns the SUV that Robin was driving. |
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© Johnny Nunez
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