What is Tempestt Bledsoe's Net Worth?
Tempestt Bledsoe is an American television actress who has a net worth of $6 million. That is a combined net worth with her partner since 1992, actor Darryl M. Bell. They co-starred together on the Cosby spinoff "A Different World" and appeared together in the Fox network reality show "Househusbands of Hollywood." Tempestt Bledsoe is best known for her role as Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. She appeared in 157 of the show's 201 episodes.
Early Life
Bledsoe was born on August 1, 1973 in Chicago, Illinois. She was interested in acting from a young age and began working as a model at the age of four. She then began appearing in commercials for brands like Kellogg's and Safeway. When she was nine years old, she caught her big break when she auditioned for "The Cosby Show," the new creation of comedian Bill Cosby.
Career
After auditioning, Bledsoe found out that she had landed the role of Vanessa Huxtable, the fourth child of Cliff and Clair Huxtable, the parents on the show. She began appearing on the show in 1984 when she was 11 years old. She remained on "The Cosby Show" as a series regular until its final season in 1992. The show aired on Thursday nights on NBC and spent five consecutive seasons as the number-one-rated show on television. It is one of only two shoes in the history of the Nielsen ratings to have made that achievement. For its entire eight-season run, it remained in the top 20 rated shows on television. The show was also instrumental in helping make a larger variety of shows that featured a predominantly black cast possible, like "In Living Color" and "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." It also inspired a spin-off, "A Different World." Bledsoe made a one-time appearance on that show.
While on "The Cosby Show," Bledsoe took other acting roles as well as television appearances. In 1985, she appeared as herself in "NBC Special Treat," "Andy Williams and the NBC Kids Search for Santa," and "One to Grow On." In 1986, she played the role of Grace Wheeler in the 15th season of the ABC "Afterschool Special" program and also appeared as herself on "Hollywood Squares." She would appear on "Hollywood Squares" again in 1988. In 1988, she also had a role in the television film, "Dance 'til Dawn," and appeared in an episode of "Monsters." She played the character of Dannie Fairview in the 1989 television film "Dream Date" and then appeared as character Vanessa Huxtable in the 1990 "Earth Day Special." It was also announced that she would become a national spokesperson for the DARE organization in 1989.
After "The Cosby Show" ended in 1992, Bledsoe continued acting, though she did pause for a few years in order to finish her college degree. In 1995, she appeared as a guest on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." The same year, she landed her own talk show, "The Tempestt Bledsoe Show," which remained on air from 1995 until 1996. The show was produced by Columbia TriStar Television and Dick Clark. In 1997, she appeared in an episode of "Jenny." She then landed a recurring role as the character Roberta Baylor in several episodes of "The Practice." The same year, she appeared in the film "Johnny B Good." She wrapped up the 1990s by appearing in an episode of "The Parkers" and also in the television film "Santa in Pete" in 1999.
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Throughout the 2000s, Bledsoe continued booking guest appearance roles in episodes of television series as well as in television films. She appeared in "The Expendables," "Fire & Ice," "The Cosby Show: A Look Back," and "BachelorMan." She also appeared as a judge on three episodes of "Pet Star" in 2003. She appeared in "Rock Me Baby," "Strong Medicine," and "South of Nowhere," as well as in the television film "Husband for Hire."
In 2008, she landed a recurring voice role on "The Replacements." She contributed to 21 episodes of the show. In 2010, she appeared in the film "N-Secure" and then voiced a character in the animated film "ParaNorman" in 2012. She appeared as the host of the reality show "Clean House" from 2010 to 2011. She also appeared in "Vietnam in HD," "Guys with Kids," "Instant Mom," and "Family Reunion."
Outside of acting, Bledsoe has also participated in a number of reality television shows. She appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," which resulted in her losing around 20 pounds. She also appeared on NBC's "Fear Factor." Her family appeared with her in the 2009 Fox Reality Channel show, "Househusbands of Hollywood." The show covered the lives of five househusbands and their wives and families. Some of the other cast members included Billy Ashley, a former professional baseball player, Grant Reynolds, a former United States Marine Corps sniper, and Charlie Mattera, an actor and screenwriter.
Personal Life
Despite her busy acting schedule during the early years of her life, Bledsoe was still able to finish her bachelor's degree in finance from New York University. In 1993, Bledsoe began dating actor Darryl M. Bell. Bell co-starred in the NBC television comedy, "A Different World," which is how the two originally met. The couple have appeared together in the spotlight numerous times over the course of their relationship. They appeared in the Fox Reality Channel series "Househusbands of Hollywood," which debuted in August 2009. Bledsoe has remained close friends with her former co-star from "The Cosby Show," Pam Potillo. She is also very interested in health and fitness and is a vegetarian.
