Robin Givens
Actress, Author, and Domestic Abuse Awareness Advocate
A successful actress, Robin Givens long oscillated between a glamorous movie star life and the domestic abuse she suffered at home. Today, she speaks out about the abuse she suffered, urging men, women, and the African American community to educate themselves about domestic violence. Robin Givens began her acting career with an appearance on The…
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A successful actress, Robin Givens long oscillated between a glamorous movie star life and the domestic abuse she suffered at home. Today, she speaks out about the abuse she suffered, urging men, women, and the African American community to educate themselves about domestic violence.
Robin Givens began her acting career with an appearance on The Cosby Show. The following year, she landed her breakthrough role as “Darlene Merriman” on the hit ABC series Head of the Class (1986-1991). During that time she co-starred with Oprah Winfrey in the miniseries The Women of Brewster Place (1989). Givens then starred in several back-to-back movies including the critically acclaimed A Rage in Harlem (1991) with Forest Whitaker, Danny Glover, and Gregory Hines under the direction of Bill Duke; Boomerang, opposite Eddie Murphy in 1992; Foreign Student (1992); and Blankman, with Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier (1994).
In 1995, Givens was listed among Empire magazine’s “100 Sexiest Stars in Film History.” She has worked with Tyler Perry on The Family That Preys Together (1998) and the TBS series Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, and has had a recurring role on USA Network’s Burn Notice. Most recently, Givens guest-starred on the hit series Chuck, the CW’s Nikita, Lifetime’s Drop Dead Diva, and BET’s Reed Between the Lines with Malcolm Jamal Warner. She also starred in the Fox pilot series Tagged in 2011.
Givens has worked extensively on stage including a successful stint on Broadway in the leading role of “Roxie Hart” in the Broadway production of “Chicago” (2006), and has performed in the Off-Broadway production of “The Vagina Monologues” (2006). She recently garnered rave reviews for her starring role in the acclaimed production of “Blues for an Alabama Sky,” opposite Kadeem Hardison and Kevin T. Carroll at The Pasadena Playhouse under artistic director Sheldon Epps.
Her 2007 biography Grace Will Lead Me Home poignantly and intelligently recounts her abusive marriage and the strength it took to finally leave her husband.
Givens is co-chair of Women Who Care.
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Topics
Grace Will Lead Me Home
Robin Givens may be best known for her abusive marriage and its cataclysmic ending. But in her vividly evoked, intelligent memoir Grace Will Lead Me Home, she makes it clear there is much more to her life. She recounts the legacy of life-threatening domestic violence that has haunted her family for three generations and how she has managed to survive, and, ultimately, thrive.
In this poignant presentation based on her book, Robin Givens shares her story with audiences around the country, urging men, women, and the African American community to educate themselves about domestic violence and put an end to the destructive cycle.
The Art of Living
The Art of Living emphasizes the connection between theater and life. In this presentation with Robin Givens, audiences will explore the critical elements of acting techniques cast against the backdrop of our universal life experiences with the goal of becoming more confident, content, and fulfilled. The Art of Living is about the quality of art as it relates to the quality of life, and the importance of practice in becoming more at peace, more confident, and more secure with ourselves.
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"Why I stayed": Actress Robin Givens opens up about her abuse
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