Tempestt Bledsoe

Tempestt Bledsoe was born in Chicago, Illinois, on August 1, 1973, to African-American parents. She was studious as a youngster and received her bachelor’s degree in finance from the New York University.

She has been in a long-term relationship with her ‘A Different World’ co-star Darryl M. Bell since 1993. She also shares a great bond and friendship with her ‘The Cosby Show’ co-star Pam Potillo. She is a vegetarian.

Tempestt Bledsoe started working as a child model at the age of four, appearing in various commercials for brands like Safeway grocery stores and Kellogg's. Her first big break came at the age of nine after she tried her luck and appeared for the audition of Bill Cosby's new sitcom ‘The Cosby Show’. She auditioned for the character of ‘Vanessa Huxtable’, the fourth child of the show’s main couple Cliff and Clair Huxtable. The ‘Huxtable’ family represented a very loving and affluent family that cared for each other and shared a very good bond amongst themselves. Bledsoe appeared in the show from 1884 to 1992.

After making her professional debut on television with ‘The Cosby Show’, she appeared in the ‘ABC Afterschool Specials’, in the episode titled ‘The Gift of Amazing Grace’ of the fifteenth season, as Grace Williams in 1986. In 1988, she appeared in the horror-comedy television series ‘Monsters’ as ‘Dottie’, before appearing in Bill Cosby’s ‘A Different World’, a spin-off of the ‘The Cosby Show’ as the same character. The same year, she appeared in the television comedy movie ‘Dream Date’ as ‘Danni Fairview’ and a year later made an appearance in the television special ‘The Earth Day Special.’

In 1998, she appeared in the American legal drama ‘The Practice’, created by David E. Kelley, playing the role of a single mother ‘Roberta Baylor’ in three episodes. She appeared in the less-popular romantic movie ‘Johnny B Good’ in 1998 and later portrayed the character of ‘Neena Davis’ in the American sitcom ‘The Parkers’.

In the next decade, Bledsoe appeared in several television movies as well as made appearances in some television shows. Her most notable works during this period include ‘Santa and Pete’ as ‘Maria Dangola’, ‘The Expendables’ as ‘Tanika’, ‘Rock Me, Baby’ as ‘Chloe’, and ‘Strong Medicine’. She later appeared in the American teen drama television series ‘South of Nowhere’ created by Thomas W. Lynch, in which she played the role of ‘Cecily’.

In 2008, she made two very important appearances, one in the comedy television film ‘Husband for Hire’ and the other in the American legal drama ‘Raising the Bar’ as ‘Camilla Hansen.’ She then signed for the American animated television series ‘The Replacements’. She replaced the long-term host Niecy Nash in the home makeover and interior design television show ‘Clean House’ in late 2010.