Denise Huxtable Kendall is a fictional character from the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), portrayed by actress Lisa Bonet. Denise also leads the first season of its spin-off A Different World (1987). The second-born child of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, Denise is a free spirit known for her eccentric clothing. Alternating between regular and recurring character, Denise appears on the sitcom on-and-off throughout its eight-year run, from its pilot "Theo's Economic Lesson" to the seventh-season episode "Cliff and Jake", for a total of 98 episodes, after which Bonet departed for the remainder of the series.
Created by comedian Bill Cosby, Denise was conceived as the Huxtable's eldest child until older sister Sondra was introduced in the show's second episode. Struggling academically, Denise drops out of post-secondary school shortly after enrolling at the historically black Hillman College. She briefly returns home before traveling to Africa, where she marries Lt. Martin Kendall, becoming stepmother to his daughter, Olivia. Bonet was cast as Denise because the producers found that she embodied some of the character's unique traits. Based on Cosby's daughter Erinn, the show's creator borrowed inspiration from their relationship for Denise's storylines exploring self-discovery and independence.
Bonet and Cosby experienced creative differences on the set of The Cosby Show, particularly regarding her career choices beyond the sitcom. Cosby developed A Different World amidst their dispute to provide the actress with a more mature platform. However, Bonet was fired from the spin-off when she became pregnant during its first season, and temporarily rejoined the cast of The Cosby Show. After leaving The Cosby Show for one year to give birth, Bonet returned as a series regular at the beginning of its sixth season until Cosby ultimately fired her during season seven.
Denise became The Cosby Show breakout character, and resonated with young adult fans. Bonet's performance was critically acclaimed and earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1986. Some fans criticized Bonet's controversial role in Angel Heart (1987), claiming it disrespected Denise's wholesome image. Denise did not fare as well on A Different World; critics found Bonet uninteresting and often blamed her performance for the show's unimpressive early reviews. Revered as a fashion icon, the character's eclectic style has had a profound impact on modern fashion trends, namely boho-chic; media publications frequently rank Denise among television's best-dressed characters.
Role The Cosby Show follows the daily goings-on of the Huxtable family, an upper-middle class African American family who reside in Brooklyn, New York. The family is run by Dr. Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby), an obstetrician, and his wife Clair (Phylicia Rashad), a lawyer. The second eldest of their five children, Denise is a younger sister of Sondra (Sabrina Lebeauf) and an elder sister to Theo (Malcolm-Jamal Warner), Vanessa (Tempestt Bledsoe) and Rudy (Keshia Knight Pulliam). After graduating from high school, Denise leaves home to pursue post-secondary education at the fictional, historically black Hillman College, the college both her parents and grandparents had attended.
A Different World focuses on the character during her freshman and sophomore years at Hillman, revolving around her as she meets new friends and adjusts to college life. However, Denise constantly struggles with her finances and academics to the point that she ultimately drops out, becoming the first member of her family to drop out of college. After leaving Hillman, Denise returns to her childhood home in the hopes of forging her own "alternative path" towards success.
Initially interested in becoming either a fashion designer or record producer, Denise pursues several short-lived part-time jobs, from which she is either fired or quits after a brief period of time, before traveling to Africa to work as a wildlife photographer's assistant. Denise returns to the Huxtable household one year later, this time as the second wife of a divorced United States Navy officer, Lt. Martin Kendall (Joseph C. Phillips) – who she has married without her family's knowledge – and stepmother to his three-year-old daughter Olivia (Raven-Symoné). After developing an interest in teaching children with learning disabilities, Denise eventually decides to enroll at Medgar Evers College. When Martin receives a posting to a naval base in Singapore, he and Denise move there and leave Olivia in the Huxtables' care. In the series finale, Denise telephones the family from Singapore to announce that she and Martin are now expecting their first child together.
Development Creation and writing Comedian Bill Cosby became interested in developing The Cosby Show partially because he was unimpressed with popular family sitcoms airing at the time, some of which often depicted children talking back to and disrespecting their parents without suffering serious consequences. Cosby intended for The Cosby Show children to remain intelligent while emphasizing that "their parents were always smarter and—most importantly—in charge." Denise was intended to be the eldest of the Huxtable family's four children. However, Cosby also wanted the show to feature a character who was an example of parents Cliff and Clair having already successfully raised a college-educated child, hence the writers introduced eldest sibling Sondra, a Princeton University student, in the second episode, while Denise was relegated to the role of the Huxtables' second eldest child instead. Cosby himself is the father of five children, four daughters and one son, much like his character Cliff. All five Huxtable children are based on Cosby's own; Denise in particular was based on the creator's daughter Erinn, who was approximately Denise's same age when the series began in 1984.
According to Cosby: His Life and Times author Mark Whitaker, Cosby conceived Denise as a "hip, fashion-conscious, and a bit flaky" character. Early storylines included Denise fighting with younger sister Vanessa over the latter borrowing her sweater without permission, getting her braces removed, announcing her decision to attend college away from home, promising younger brother Theo that she is capable of sewing him a replica of an expensive designer shirt he had purchased, and tricking her parents into believing she had spent a night at a male friend's house to prove a point about their parenting style. An episode entitled "Jitterbug Break" was written to explore Cosby's interest in the ways in which different generations dance. When Denise's parents deny her permission to attend a concert, some of her friends are invited into their living room which has been converted into a dance floor by rearranging some of the furniture, allowing them room to break dance. They are eventually joined by a pair of Cliff and Clair's swing dancing friends, and a dance battle ensues between the younger and older dancers. In one of the show's more serious episodes, Denise struggles with the revelation that a teenage friend of hers is pregnant. Several episodes revolving around Denise explore her boyfriends and dating life.
Casting and portrayal Denise is portrayed by American actress Lisa Bonet, whose acting experience prior to The Cosby Show had been limited to television commercials and a guest appearance on the medical drama St. Elsewhere. Casting the role of Denise, who was intended to be the Huxtable's family's eldest child at the time, was a relatively quick process. Bonet first auditioned for the show's directors, followed by its producers, then finally Cosby himself and the network executives. Cosby immediately liked then-15 year-old Bonet because she had been wearing makeup on only one side of her face, already demonstrating some of the quirky qualities Cosby had envisioned for the character. Impressed by the young actress' strong sense of self, producer Marcy Carsey said Bonet wore braces, a "real kid" hairstyle, and "off-center" clothing to her audition, which were very similar to what the creators had always envisioned for Denise. They described Bonet as a young woman who refuses to be anything but herself based on the actress' natural line delivery, which Cosby found refreshing compared to the "stagey" acting most child auditionees relied on. According to People, Denise "didn't fit into any mold, a role that seemed made for Lisa Bonet".
The role had originally been offered to Whitney Houston, but she turned it down because the five-year contract would have interfered with her aspiring singing career. The candidates were eventually narrowed down to three finalists for each child character, including Bonet for Denise, although she felt discouraged after overhearing one of her competitors say her braces will cost her the part. After Bonet learned that she had in fact been chosen for the role from director Jay Sandrich, she met with Cosby one more time, who admitted to liking her braces. Once Bonet was cast, the writers began to incorporate some aspects of her personality into her character, although her own fashion sense and behavior is viewed as more "outlandish" than Denise's. Costume designer Sarah Lemire was granted a weekly budget of $3000 to outfit the show's characters, and frequently risks with Bonet's wardrobe in particular. Lemire said she would have liked to have been "more outrageous with [Bonet's] hair and hats", but limited herself because she had little control over the actress' hair. Praising Bonet's own taste in clothes, Lemire likened costuming her to "dressing myself if I was 20 years younger". Bonet often selected her character's outfits herself with little input from the wardrobe department.
Denise was Bonet's first major television role. Being of mixed ethnicity, her character's upbringing "as a teen-ager in a well-adjusted, upper-middle-class black family" is remarkably different from how Bonet grew up, which took some time for the actress to adjust to; she never knew her father and was raised by her mother in a lower-middle-class, mostly white neighborhood. However, Bonet credits her role on The Cosby Show with "helping resolve her own identity crisis". Bonet described the show's environment in 1987 as "the perfect family, where you go to work, you get tired of them and you go home", and at the time likened working alongside Cosby to "learning from a master", from whom she often sought both professional and personal advice. Actress Phylicia Rashad, who portrays Bonet's on-screen mother Clair, described Bonet as "one of the best young actresses today ... She is phenomenal for someone of her years".
Creative conflicts and A Different World