Arlene Joyce Litman was an American music teacher best known as the mother of actress Lisa Bonet, who played Denise Huxtable on NBC’s The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992.
She raised Lisa as a single parent in Los Angeles after her divorce from opera singer Allen Bonet, and her quiet strength shaped both her daughter’s life and, through Lisa, the career of actress Zoë Kravitz.
Who is Arlene Litman?
Arlene Joyce Litman was an American music teacher who lived a private life in Los Angeles, California. Most people know her as the mother of actress Lisa Bonet, though her own story goes well beyond that role.
She worked as a music teacher for many years.
Born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family with Polish and Russian roots, she married African-American opera singer Allen Bonet in 1967 and had one daughter, Lisa. After the couple divorced, she raised Lisa entirely on her own.
Arlene passed away on March 3, 1998, in Los Angeles at the age of 58, following a battle with breast cancer. She lives on through her daughter and granddaughter, Zoë Kravitz.
Arlene Litman and Lisa Bonet
Arlene Litman was the mother of Lisa Michelle Bonet, the American actress known for her role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show. After her divorce from Allen Bonet in the late 1960s, Arlene raised Lisa alone in Reseda, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.
Lisa started acting in commercials at the age of 11.
At 16, Lisa joined the cast of The Cosby Show in 1984, playing Denise Huxtable alongside Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad. The show made her one of the most recognized young actresses of the decade.
She later starred in the spinoff A Different World and appeared in films including Angel Heart (1987), Enemy of the State (1998), and High Fidelity (2000).
Arlene witnessed her daughter marry musician Lenny Kravitz on November 16, 1987, on Lisa’s 20th birthday, in Las Vegas. She also met her granddaughter, Zoë Kravitz, who was born on December 1, 1988.
Arlene died in March 1998, when Zoë was nine years old. In 2019, Zoë honored her grandmother by partnering with YSL Beauté on a lipstick collection.
One shade, named “Arlene’s Nude No.121,” carried a soft rosewood color that Zoë described as a reflection of her grandmother’s natural, understated beauty.
Lisa spoke publicly about the grief she felt after losing Arlene. She described her mother as the person who understood her without words and who had been her constant support since childhood.
Arlene did not live to see Lisa’s later marriage to actor Jason Momoa in 2017, or the births of Lola Iolani Momoa and Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa.
Early Life of Arlene Litman
Arlene Joyce Litman was born on February 11, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her parents were Eli Litman and Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg, both from families with Jewish immigrant backgrounds.
Her father, Eli Litman, was born in 1912 in Pennsylvania to Russian Jewish immigrants. He died in 1986.
Her mother, Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg, also came from Russian Jewish stock and lived an exceptionally long life.
Sylvia passed away in 2016 at the age of 100.
Arlene grew up with one sibling, a brother named Barry Litman. Her family followed strong cultural traditions rooted in their Ashkenazi Jewish heritage, which had shaped her family’s values across multiple generations.
Arlene Litman Age / Birthday
Arlene Litman was born on February 11, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
She was 58 years old at the time of her death on March 3, 1998. Her zodiac sign was Aquarius, a sign often linked with independent thinking and a willingness to follow one’s own convictions. Those qualities showed clearly in her decision to marry across racial lines despite strong family opposition.
She spent most of her adult life in Los Angeles, California, where she raised Lisa and built her teaching career.
Arlene Litman Ethnicity and Nationality
Arlene Litman was American by nationality. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later made her home in Los Angeles, California.
She was of Ashkenazi Jewish ethnicity, with family roots in Poland and Russia on both sides.
Her Jewish heritage was central to her identity, and it played a defining role in her life story. When she chose to marry Allen Bonet, an African-American opera singer, her family rejected the union because of his race, permanently cutting ties with her over the interracial relationship.
Arlene Litman Height and Weight
Arlene Litman stood at approximately 5 feet 6 inches tall, which equals about 167 centimeters.
Her weight was around 60 kg, which is equivalent to approximately 132 lbs.
Those who knew her described her as composed and graceful in her appearance, carrying herself with the quiet presence of someone who had built her confidence through decades of teaching and raising a child on her own.
Arlene Litman Career
Arlene Litman worked as a music teacher throughout most of her adult life. Music sat at the heart of her personal and professional identity, connecting her work with her deepest interests.
She taught in Pennsylvania earlier in her life and later continued her teaching career in California, where she settled after the birth of her daughter.
Teaching was a calling for her, and she earned the respect of students and colleagues in that role.
After her divorce from Allen Bonet, she balanced her work as a music teacher with the demands of raising Lisa without family support. Her love of music, shared also with Allen Bonet during their marriage, remained a thread running through her life and into her daughter’s artistically rich world.
Arlene Litman Death
Arlene Litman passed away on March 3, 1998, in Los Angeles, California.
She was 58 years old. Breast cancer was the cause of her death.
She had battled the illness for an extended period before passing. Her granddaughter Zoë Kravitz was nine years old at the time, and Lisa was 30.
Arlene was laid to rest in Los Angeles. Her family has kept the location of her grave private, consistent with the quiet, private life she led throughout her years.
Lisa spoke about her grief in multiple interviews after Arlene’s death. She described losing her mother as losing the one person who had been a constant, unconditional presence from childhood through adulthood.
Arlene Litman Husband
Arlene Litman married Allen Bonet, an African-American opera singer born in Texas, on June 12, 1967, in San Francisco, California. Their marriage was a bold step in an era when interracial relationships still carried heavy social stigma.
Arlene’s family rejected the relationship immediately.
Her decision to marry Allen despite her family’s strong opposition led to a permanent break from her relatives. She chose to follow her convictions, accepting the personal cost that came with that choice.
The couple had one daughter, Lisa Michelle Bonet, born on November 16, 1967. Their marriage ended in divorce when Lisa was still a young child. After the separation, Arlene raised Lisa on her own in Reseda, Los Angeles, without family support.
Allen Bonet later married Deborah Bonet. He and Deborah had several children together, giving Lisa a number of half-siblings.
Arlene Litman Children
Arlene Litman had one child, Lisa Michelle Bonet, born on November 16, 1967, in San Francisco, California. She raised Lisa as a single mother in Reseda, Los Angeles, after her divorce from Allen Bonet.
Lisa began her professional acting career at age 11, appearing in commercials.
At 16, Lisa joined the cast of The Cosby Show in 1984, playing the role of Denise Huxtable. The show ran until 1992 and made Lisa one of the defining faces of 1980s American television alongside Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad.
Arlene lived to see Lisa marry Lenny Kravitz in 1987 and become a mother herself with the birth of Zoë Kravitz on December 1, 1988. As a grandmother, Arlene had nearly ten years with Zoë before her death in 1998.
Lisa went on to marry actor Jason Momoa in 2017 and had two more children: Lola Iolani Momoa and Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa. Arlene did not live to know them, but her influence on the family continued through the values she passed to Lisa, and through Lisa to Zoë.
Summary
Arlene Joyce Litman spent her life as a music teacher and single mother in Los Angeles, raising the daughter who became one of 1980s television’s most recognized faces and the grandmother of actress Zoë Kravitz.
Her story reflects the particular courage it took to build a mixed-race family in the 1960s without family support, and her memory carried forward through a generation of creative, culturally complex women who trace their roots directly back to her.
