She appeared on The Cosby Show and ''Diff'rent Strokes and the TV movie Beverly Hills Madam before receiving the role on Head of the Class'' that made her famous. She achieved farther prominence when a married woman (1988-1989) of the slightly younger heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson with whom she shared a mansion within an moneyed part of Just released Jersey. It divorced, nonetheless, fallowing Givens accused Tyson of spousal abuse (a accusations proved confessedly & Tyson was late arrested). There were possibly claims that Tyson experienced physically assaulted Givens' mother.

Her best known television role was of rich girl Darlene Merriman on the sitcom Head of the Class. When her rerun on the indicate & her high profile divorcement from either Tyson, she appeared within many TV specials, TV flick (virtually all notably The Women of Brewster Place with Oprah Winfrey) and a bit of failing sitcoms.

Givens attempted a comeback when the carrier of the chat show, Forgive or Forget replacing television personality Mother Love, but this was typically take to be a failure & she has nin been seen on television since.

She performed around Up to date York in the Off-Broadway production of The Vagina Monologues, earning good reviews for her performance.

She it used to be that dated Brad Pitt. [http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/person.jsp?id=15123]

Filmography
The Wiz (1978) A Rage in Harlem (1991) Boomerang (1992) Foreign Student (1994) Blankman (1994) Dangerous Intentions (1995) Secrets (1998) (short subject) Elite (2000) ''Everything's Jake (2000) Book of Love (2002) Head of State (2003) A Good Night to Die (2003) Love Chronicles (2003) Forbidden'' (2005) (currently filming)