5 Fun Facts About Jasmine Guy, Who Played Whitley Gilbert From ‘A Different World’
The Cosby Show did more than carry on The Jeffersons’ legacy of placing an upper-class Black household square among Americans’ favorite TV families. It also drew attention to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), courtesy of the Huxtable family’s proud and multigenerational association with the fictional Hillman College. In the midst of Cosby’s run, middle Huxtable daughter Denise — played by Lisa Bonet — departed for Hillman and the show’s popular spinoff A Different World, which was based there. And where she was quickly upstaged by her wise but sharp-tongued Southern Belle classmate Whitley Gilbert, memorably played by Jasmine Guy.
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After some first-season stumbles, capped by Bonet’s pregnancy and departure from the show, the series found its footing. A Different World became groundbreaking in its own right for focusing on young Black professionals making and addressing issues the family-centered Cosby could not, including racism, sexual assault, HIV/AIDS and political activism, with Guy’s Gilbert leading the way. HBCUs enjoyed increased enrollment during the show’s six-season run.
“Not until the show was over did I realize just how powerful the show was,” Guy told New York’s Amsterdam News. “And it cut across the board. Young people. Kids going to college, and that families were able to watch the show together. On this show, we addressed a lot of important issues … it was a great vehicle for people to talk about those heavier issues.”
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Though it could have been easy for Guy to be typecast as Whitley — a role for which she won four consecutive NAACP Image Awards from 1990 through 1993 — she has since enjoyed a wide-ranging career, including memorable roles in film and on the TV series Dead Like Me, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, The Chronicles of Jessica Wu (for which she won an Emmy) and the current Harlem.
To celebrate Guy’s 63rd birthday today (March 10), here are five things you may not know about the woman who played Whitley, y’all.
1 She Is of Black and Portuguese Descent
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Guy was born on March 10, 1962, in Boston to William Guy, an African American pastor and professor, and his wife, Jaye Resendes, a Portuguese American teacher. When the family moved to Atlanta, William Guy’s church, Friendship Baptist Church of Atlanta, served as an early home to the historic HBCU Spelman College.
2 She Also Worked Behind the Camera on A Different World
Guy got so comfortable with her character and the series that she cowrote three A Different World episodes — “Power of the Pen” in 1990, “War and Peace” in 1991 and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” in 1992. She also appeared in every episode of the series.
3 She Skipped College to Dance
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At just 17, Guy moved to New York to attend the famed Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, now called The Ailey School. There, she spent several years working on her performance arts skills before famed performer Debbie Allen cast her in a non-speaking role as a dancer in the Oscar-winning 1980 film Fame.
4 She Was Close With the Shakurs
She was good friends with iconic rapper Tupac Shakur until his 1996 death, and remained close to his mom, Afeni Shakur, until she passed away 10 years later. Guy also wrote a book about Afeni’s time in the Black Power movement, called Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary.
5 Her Whitley Is Still a Style Icon
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The show’s costume designer, Ceci, took the fashion trends of the ’90s and polished them into timeless looks that radiated class, self-worth and the depth of Black culture. “I wanted to saturate the show with Black culture, Black fashion and everything that represented all things Black,” Ceci told Huffington Post, adding that Black designers of the time were thrilled to have representation on such a high-profile show.
A Different World is currently available on the over-the-air channel TV One and streaming on Netflix.
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