Tempestt Bledsoe is the actress most famous for playing Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running series "The Cosby Show."
Born August 1, 1973 in Chicago, Tempestt appeared in a few commercials before her big break in getting the role of Vanessa for the 1984 Bill Cosby vehicle. A gentle twist on the middle child, Vanessa is by far the most responsible of the Huxtable children, and Tempestt played her with charm, boy-craziness, and hands-on-hip snark. The show lasted until 1991. In addition to her stint as Vanessa, she also took the lead role in 1986's TV movie The Gift of Amazing Grace.
After the show ended, Tempestt quit acting and attended New York University, where she majored in finance. In 1995, she began hosting "The Tempestt Bledsoe Show", a talk show in the Rikki Lake/Sally Jesse Raphael format. However, it was pulled after only one season.
She returned to acting in the late 1990s, with guest stints on "Pet Star", "The Practice", and "The Parkers", as well as special appearances on a number of television shows.
Her most recent foray into entertainment is on VH1's hip dieting reality show "Celebrity Fit Club", where she competes against the likes of Kelly LeBrock, Chastity Bono, and others in a challenge to see who could lose the most weight. Tempestt's behavior on the show was pretty bad, and she was traded from her original team due to squabbling and her refusal to help the others or provide a team atmosphere.