Jasmine Guy is alive. Guy made her acting debut on television in a non-speaking capacity in seven episodes of the 1982 drama series Fame, which Debbie Allen choreographed.
Guy’s most prominent part to this day is that of Whitley Gilbert in the sitcom A Different World, in which she starred. The Cosby Show spinoff, which Bill Cosby himself produced, aired on NBC from 1987 through 1993.
She started as a co-star but ended up taking the place of the show’s original star, Lisa Bonet, after quitting the series. Guy wrote three episodes of the show, directed one, and appeared in every episode. She was a six-time winner of the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series NAACP Image Award.
Guy made her cinematic debut in 1988’s musical drama School Daze, directed by Spike Lee. She took on the role of Dina, an African American woman with pale skin and straight hair, which belonged to Gamma Ray, a women’s auxiliary of the fraternity Gamma Phi Gamma.
She appeared in a leading role in the famous off-Broadway musical Beehive in 1987 before moving to France to take part in a similar musical revue.
Guy has been in some Broadway shows and national tours, notably as Velma Kelly in Chicago, Crow in The Wiz, Mickey in Leader of the Pack, and Betty Rizzo in Grease.
