A Different World cast: Where are they now?

A Different World cast: Where are they now?

During its six-season run, the pioneering sitcom brought diverse representation to primetime, which explains why it has resonated with multiple generations of viewers. See what the Hillman alumni have been up to since their college days.

A Different World, then and now

The late-’80s sitcom about students at a historically Black university was much more than a Cosby Show spin-off. When producer Debbie Allen came on to helm the show’s second season, it blossomed into a portrayal of life on HBCU campuses that tackled important social issues.

A Different World premiered on NBC on Sept. 24, 1987, and some of the cast members have gone on to create huge entertainment careers for themselves in the decades since. Click through to find out who!

Lisa Bonet (Denise Huxtable)

As the lead of the first season of A Different World, Lisa Bonet played the second-born wild child of Cliff Huxtable who enrolls at a fictional HBCU in Virginia called Hillman. After one season, Bonet became pregnant with then husband Lenny Kravitz’s baby and was let go from the show. Reportedly, some of the show’s other producers objected to the idea of a pregnant, unwed Denise.

After leaving both sitcoms, Bonet divorced from Kravitz, retreating from the spotlight and focusing on raising daughter Zoë. In 1998, she returned to acting, starring in the Will Smith blockbuster Enemy of the State (1998), then High Fidelity (2000). (Her daughter starred in the latter film’s 2020 reboot series.) In the 2010s, she appeared on Ray Donovan, The Red Road, and Girls.

Jasmine Guy (Whitley Gilbert)

Whitley wasn’t always going to be the main focus of A Different World; Jasmine Guy’s character was a supporting cast member until season 2, when she was promoted to lead after Bonet left the show.

Guy later booked small parts on TV and did some voice work before landing recurring roles on Dead Like Me and K.C. Undercover. You might recognize her as the witchy Bennett matriarch Sheila on The Vampire Diaries or from her five-episode arc as Gemma Larson on Grey’s Anatomy, but she also landed a noteworthy role as Patricia on Amazon Prime Video’s Harlem.

Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne Wayne)

Kadeem Hardison played the flirty math nerd Dwayne Wayne, known for his flip-up sunglasses, who was also upgraded to lead the cast in season 2 along with Guy.

Hardison had steady — if not notable — work in the years since, starring in budget action movies and booking guest spots on shows like Supernatural, House, and My Name Is Earl. He also starred on the Zendaya-led Disney Channel series K.C. Undercover, as well as appeared on Black Monday, Teenage Bounty Hunters, The Lincoln Lawyer, Moonhaven, and Grown-ish.

Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson)

Darryl M. Bell played goofy musician and ROTC student Ron Johnson for all six seasons of the show.

After A Different World ended in 1993, Bell booked a lead role as Morris Clay on the sci-fi comedy series Homeboys in Outer Space; did a three-episode arc on Cosby in 1997; and appeared in two episodes of Insecure in 2018. He is married to another Cosby Show alum, Tempestt Bledsoe; the two appeared on the 2009 reality show Househusbands of Hollywood.

Charnele Brown (Kim Reese)

Charnele Brown came on in season 2 to play overachieving medical student and Whitley’s roommate, Kim.

Since A Different World, Brown appeared in a few small guest roles on Martin, My Wife and Kids, and Girlfriends. In addition to acting in movies like Dilemma (2022) and Lee Daniels’ The Reading (2023), she also produces and writes, including the TV film BKS, Best Kept Secret (2020).

Dawnn Lewis (Jaleesa Vinson)

Dawnn Lewis played older than her counterparts on the show as 25-year-old Jaleesa, who enrolls at Hillman after a failed marriage. In the five seasons she appears, she’s a bold, mature figure who helps guide her schoolmates and friends.

Lewis left the show to play Robin Dumars on another TV series, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. She was Melba Early in the 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls, and had small roles on One Tree Hill, Days of Our Lives, and The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Lewis has had regular voice work on Futurama, The Cleveland Show, and The Simpsons, among numerous other projects, and has made further TV appearances on The Boys, 9-1-1, The Rich and the Ruthless, and Young Rock.

Cree Summer (Freddie Brooks)

Cree Summer played Freddie, Jaleesa’s roommate and the love interest of many a coed at Hillman.

You might not have seen Summers in anything since A Different World, but you’ve probably heard her. She’s had an illustrious voice career, voicing characters on cartoons like Batman Beyond, Rugrats, Danny Phantom, Puppy Dog Pals, The Patrick Star Show, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder, and dozens more. Although Summer has enjoyed some success as a musician — she opened for the tour of her friend Lenny Kravitz, who also produced her first solo album — she still works on screen with appearances on shows like Better Things and Swarm.

Lou Myers (Vernon Gaines)

Lou Myers played a grumpy Vernon Gaines, owner and manager of the Pit. He makes fast friends with fellow military man Brad Taylor and over the six seasons, several cast members work for him at his restaurant at one point or another.

Myers booked small roles in rom-coms in the years after A Different World, counting Tin Cup (1996), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and The Wedding Planner (2001) among his credits. Sadly, he passed away in 2013 at age 76.

Glynn Turman (Col. Brad Taylor)

Colonel Taylor, a math teacher at Hillman, was often dubbed Mr. War by his students.

Glynn Turman has built an impressive career in TV and film since his A Different World days, appearing as Mayor Clarence V. Royce on The Wire, in addition to recurring roles on How to Get Away With Murder, Queen Sugar, Fargo, and Women of the Movement. He played Jeremiah Kaan on House of Lies for four seasons and won an Emmy in 2008 for his guest spot on In Treatment. On the big screen, Turman earned roles for The Way Back (2020), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020), The Devil You Know (2022), and 80 for Brady (2023).

Sinbad (Coach Walter Oakes)

Oakes was the busiest man on Hillman’s campus, coaching the football, basketball, baseball, and track teams, and acting as codirector of the Gilbert Hall dorm. Sinbad served up comic relief with Oakes’ colorful personality and outlandish outfits.

After Sinbad left the show in 1991, he started working on his family comedy, The Sinbad Show. He starred in ’90s comedies First Kid (1996), Jingle All the Way (1996), Good Burger (1997), and did stints on Resurrection Blvd. and Rel. In addition to making tons of cameos on TV, the comedian has filmed numerous stand-up specials for the likes of HBO.