Hair Story: Lisa Bonet

– by Guest Contributor Dorcas Siwoku

Lisa Bonet… swoon! From her early days on the Cosby Show to her life with Lenny and now a mom of three, there has always been something about Lisa that makes you stop and stare. She’s effortlessly chic, forever defying fashion rules, walking to her own beat and looking gorgeous while doing so. It’s not a surprise that she echoes the same rules when it comes to hair.

denise huxtable

Bonet’s career took off with her 7-season career on the Cosby Show. Denise Huxtable quickly became a fashion icon experimenting with color, fit, layering and everything in between. On top of her eccentric style Denise always had a hairstyle that made you look twice.

On season one Denise played between straight styles, up dos and wearing her naturally curly shoulder length hair. As the show progressed, Bonet took risks with her hair, chopping off her locks in season two for a shorter straight pixie. In season three Denise began wearing her natural locks, growing her hair to waist length by season seven and sporting new locs. In 1987, she briefly left The Cosby Show to star in the spin-off series A Different World that focused on Denise Huxtable’s life at college. After announcing her pregnancy during the run of A Different World, Bonet left the series, returned to The Cosby Show but left again in 1991 because of ‘creative differences.’

lilakoi moon and life with lenny

Never afraid of taking risks, Lisa was the poster child of being wild and free. She left behind her good girl Cosby show image and embarked on her next chapter of life. On November 16, 1987, her 20th birthday, she eloped with singer Lenny Kravitz in Las Vegas, Nevada and about a year later on December 1, 1988 she gave birth to her first daughter Zoe Kravitz.

Lenny and Lisa shared both their love for the neo-hippie style and both had a head full of locs. In 1992 she changed her name to Lilakoi Moon citing her desire for privacy though she continued to use the name Lisa Bonet in her acting work.

“She walked away from being famous, because she didn’t really care about it. She is the most true artist I have met. She doesn’t change for anybody. I see her in front of people, in interviews, at home alone at five in the morning making collages, or in her garden, and I admire her so much.” Bonet’s daughter Zoe Kravitz shared in an interviewed with Asos.

Around this time Lisa’s locs became her signature look. It was as if her locs mirrored her personality—they looked effortless and unique and seemed as though they organically came together with minimal effort. The ends of her locs displayed her natural curls—a unique mix of loc’d and free hair. Her relationship had its ups and downs, including media reports of Lenny’s reported infidelities. She and Lenny separated and eventually divorced in 1993.

lisa as magdalena

In 2005, she began a relationship with Hawaiian actor Jason Mamoa (gorgeous man) and the two were married in 2007. Together they have 2 curly kiddies, Lola Iolani Momoa & Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.

In her latest acting role Lisa plays the character of “Magdalena” in “The Road to Paloma,” a film written, produced and directed by her husband (again, gorgeous).

As she gets older Lisa continues to wear her care free locs, but in signature ‘Bonet’ style she continues to play by her own rules. In 2012 she shaved one side of her locs embracing her now waist length, grey flecked hair. She said it best back in 2000 to Vibe Magazine, it is more than okay to stand out, be different and rub against the grain; “It’s okay to be a freak.”