Robin Givens

Actress Robin Givens rose to notoriety in the mid-1980s as the star of a popular teen-sitcom, only to gain infamy for her disastrous marriage to troubled heavyweight fighter Mike Tyson by decade's end. Encouraged by none other than Bill Cosby to pursue a career in acting, Givens soon landed a starring role on the popular sitcom "Head of the Class" (1986-1991). Her scandalous marriage to Tyson in 1988, however, took her from TV darling to tabloid temptress, resulting in Givens being dubbed the "Most Hated Woman in America" at one point. Looking to shift the focus away from her turbulent personal life and back to her professional work, the actress impressed with a convincing turn as a femme fatale in the crime drama "A Rage in Harlem" (1991). Appearances alongside leading men like Eddie Murphy in "Boomerang" (1992) and Damon Wayans in "Blankman" (1994) distanced her further from the Tyson episode. In the years that followed, she posed nude for Playboy, married again (for a single day), appeared on Broadway, published her memoir Grace Will Lead Me Home, and co-starred in such feature films as Tyler Perry's "The Family That Preys" (2008). Despite earnest attempts to set the record straight and reconcile with her past, as well as continue to work in film and television, Givens would be forever linked to those brief, stormy years spent with the volatile boxer.