My Take
Robin Givens is one of those people who got defined by a single tabloid chapter — her turbulent 1988 marriage to Mike Tyson — and I think that's genuinely unfair to how talented she actually is. She spent five years holding her own on Head of the Class as the sharp, ambitious Darlene Merriman, and that comedic timing was no accident: this is a Sarah Lawrence College grad who brought real intelligence to every role she took. She later turned her own painful experience into advocacy, becoming a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, which takes guts. As a director and stage actress on top of everything else, she never let the gossip columns write the final word on her career, and I respect that kind of quiet resilience more than I can say.
Overview
Robin Givens (born November 27, 1964) is an American actress and director. Givens played Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class in 1986, and remained on the series for its five year duration. Her marriage to boxer Mike Tyson in 1988 drew considerable media attention, as did their divorce. She later went on to become a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for several years.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Robin Givens
- Name (Japanese)
- ロビン・ギヴンズ
- Reading
- ろびん・ぎゔんず
- Born
- November 27, 1964 (age 61)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Dragon
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / stage actor / film director / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Sarah Lawrence College
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.