Each had their own appeal, but a lot of kids related to the second youngest Huxtable, Vanessa.
Tempestt Bledsoe was just 11 years old when she scored the role she’d become best known for.
She had no idea then how big the show would become.
“You are confronted with a lot of adult issues very quickly.
It’s just a different kind of society that you circulate in.”
Indeed, Bledsoe grew up before viewers' eyes.
“Vanessa Huxtable was not always perfectly pressed,” she noted.
And then you had the sisters who had much more perfect [hair] Rudy had her little braids.
But Vanessa felt like me.
The two met when Bledsoe made a guest appearance on the series five years prior.
They’ve been together ever since, although they chose to never marry.
“I think we are very compatible.
I think that is really the heart of it.
People ask us what it is.
And laughter is also very important,” she said (perBDO).
The couple gave reality TV a go in 2009 when they appeared onHouse Husbands of Hollywood.
They filmed nine episodes of the show and were one of the only unmarried couples to appear.
That wasn’t Bledsoe’s only reality TV gig that year, either.
She appeared on VH1’sCelebrity Fit Club.
She toldPeopleshe lost 19 lbs.
on the show and kept it off by maintaining a vegetarian lifestyle.
Pulliam played the youngest Cosby sibling, Rudy, on the beloved sitcom.
The two portrayed sisters again in a single episode ofGuys With Kids(perIMDb).
Bledsoe played Marny on the series.
Pulliam guest-starred as Marny’s spoiled sister, Bridget.
It was a thrill for Bledsoe.
“I grew up with Keshia.
She’s like my sister, so we immediately clicked again,” Bledsoe toldTV Guide.
I think they’re fantasizing about having all ofThe Cosby Showcast pop up."
Most recently, Bledsoe appeared in the Netflix seriesFamily Reunionin 2019, as perTV Guide.
Bledsoe has never tried to run from her association withThe Cosby Show.
She has never spoken out for or against Cosby.
It may be easier for her to embrace her role on the show than most.
She didn’t suffer the punch in-casting other actors on the show did.
