Meet the Kids of the Original “A Different World” Cast

Nicole BrieseSat, September 26, 2026 at 1:00 PM UTC

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Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Willow Smith in Los Angeles on Oct. 23, 2015; Zoë Kravitz and Lisa Bonet at the InStyle Awards in Los Angeles on Oct. 26, 2015.Credit: Chelsea Lauren/WWD/Penske Media via Getty; Jason Merritt/Getty -

The original A Different World aired from 1987 to 1993 on NBC

Many original cast members, including Kadeem Hardison and Jasmine Guy, became parents after the show ended

Several of the cast’s children, like Zoë Kravitz and Jaden Smith, have pursued successful careers in entertainment

The cast members of A Different World are like family — but they also have off-screen families of their own.

Kadeem Hardison, who starred in the show as Dwayne Cleofis Wayne, became a father with the birth of his daughter, Sophia, in 1996. Jasmine Guy, who played his on-screen wife, Whitley, had a daughter on her own in 1999.

Fellow cast members Jada Pinkett Smith, Cree Summer, Lou Myers, Lisa Bonet, Glynn Turman and Sinbad also became parents in the years following the show’s 1993 finale.

In 2026, Netflix revived A Different World with a sequel series of the same name, which premiered on Sept. 24. Hardison, Guy, Smith and Summer all reprised their roles for the sequel, as did fellow castmates Darryl M. Bell, Jenifer Lewis and Charnele Brown.

Cornell Young IV, who plays Shaquille Johnson in the new show, told PEOPLE that the original cast and crew guided him throughout filming and that they felt like “family.”

“Immediately, the pressure was gone because it’s like I’m working with my family,” Young said in September 2026. “It’s like you’re doing stuff with your mom, your dad, your auntie, your uncle. That’s how it felt.”

Here’s everything to know about the kids of the original A Different World cast, several of whom have become stars in their own right.

01 of 08

Kadeem Hardison’s daughter

Kadeem Hardison and Sophia Hardison at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles on June 30, 2024.Credit: Gilbert Flores/ Billboard via Getty

After A Different World ended in 1993, Hardison married singer Chanté Moore in 1997. The couple welcomed a daughter, Sophia, before divorcing in 2000.

Born on Sept. 27, 1996, Sophia grew up away from the spotlight. In May 2024, Hardison explained that she likes his “goofy” character, Dwayne.

“She gets a kick out of it because she doesn’t know me as the goofy guy,” he said on Sherri Shepherd’s The Sherri Show.

02 of 08

Jasmine Guy’s daughter

Imani Duckett and Jasmine Guy in Beverly Hills, California on Oct. 27, 2018.Credit: Rob Latour/Variety/Penske Media/Getty Images

Guy, who played Hardison’s on-screen wife, Whitley, has one daughter named Imani Guy Duckette.

The artist, whose name means “faith,” was born on March 28, 1999, to Guy and her then-husband, Terrence Michael Duckett.

Imani began flexing her creative muscles as a teenager and starred in the 2016 play Serial Black Face. She went on to attend New York University, where she studied at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Together with her mother, she penned Guys’ memoir, A Different Girl, which is set for publication in February 2027.

03 of 08

Cree Summer’s two daughters

Cree Summer with children Brave Littlewing and Hero Peregrine.Credit: Cree Summer/Instagram

Summer, who played Winifred “Freddie” Brooks on A Different World, welcomed two children with her ex-husband, Angelo Pullen. Daughters Brave Littlewing and Hero Peregrine were born in March 2011 and January 2013, respectively.

When the couple split in 2022, Summer became a single mom. “I didn’t want to do it by myself,” she recalled to Essencein May 2022. “It seemed scary.”

Single parenthood, however, quickly became her greatest joy. “The thing that I feared the most is the thing I love the most. I feared doing it on my own and I love doing it on my own,” she told the outlet.

The actress celebrated Littlewing’s 15th birthday in March 2026. “15 Years being The Best Daughter and Big Sister in Town 🖤,” the proud mom wrote on Instagram. “15 years watching you grow and take quantum leaps into being who You Truly ARE.”

She also paid homage to Peregrine on her 13th birthday with a sweet message on Threads in January 2026 that read, “I’m so proud of the deeply compassionate and wise young woman you have become. ❤️.”

04 of 08

Glynn Turman’s four children

Aretha Franklin with her husband Glynn Turman and children Teddy Richard, Kecalf, Stephanie Turman and Glynn Turman Jr.Credit: Tony Korody/Sygma/Sygma via Getty

As retired Army colonel Bradford Taylor, Turman played a loving-but-strict father to three children. In real life, meanwhile, he welcomed four kids of his own: Glynn Jr., Darryl and Stephanie, whom he had with his first wife, Ula M. Walker, and Delena, whom he shares with his wife, Jo-Ann Allen.

In November 1986, Glynn Jr. died at 21 after being stabbed in Santa Monica, Calif., per UPI.

“[He was] an … overachiever … very athletic, you know, a great athlete,” Turman later said of his late son in a February 2021 appearance on the Fathers Who Bother podcast. “But he was also very smart, much smarter than I was  … And a student, he was a student, he liked school, liked books, liked reading, you know, none of that he got from me.”

Turman also opened up about grief, adding, “What’s happening is you’ve got a hole in your heart. Someone that you’ve missed the rest of your life. The pain will hit you at any given time, and you don’t know when it’s gonna hit you.”

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Growing up, Stephanie, Darryl and Glynn Jr. lived with the actor’s late second wife, Aretha Franklin. The former couple were married from 1978 to 1984. “I got a chance to live with one of the biggest icons in the world,” Stephanie later told CBS in August 2018.

Delena, meanwhile, was born to Turman and Allen, who tied the knot in 1992. She is a producer, with credits on shows like The Ellen DeGeneres Show and Breaking In.

Glynn has since become a grandfather several times over, and has welcomed at least eight grandchildren, according to the Los Angeles Times.

05 of 08

Sinbad’s two children

Sinbad with son Royce and daughter Paige.Credit: Royce Adkins/Instagram

Sinbad, who played Coach Walter Oakes on A Different World, is the father of two children, Royce and Paige Adkins, whom he welcomed with his wife, Meredith. The couple are also grandparents.

Paige followed in her father’s footsteps by pursuing a career in comedy and opened for him in April 2026 in what was his first comedy show since his 2020 stroke.

“I’m looking forward to this because she talks more trash than I talk,” he said on Instagram at the time.

Royce also works in show business as a director and editor. He shared a Father’s Day tribute to his dad on Instagram in June 2026. “Stuntin’ like my daddy at all times,” he captioned the post.

06 of 08

Jada Pinkett Smith’s children

Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith and Willow Smith at the Environmental Media Association 26th Annual EMA Awards in Burbank, California on Oct. 22, 2016.Credit: Randy Shropshire/Getty

Smith shares two children with her husband, Will Smith. Born in 1998 and 2000, respectively, both Jaden and Willow are older than their mom was when she played Lena James on A Different World.

“I think what they’ve taught me collectively is that deep sense of self-acceptance,” Jada told PEOPLE of her kids in October 2023. “My kids, they love every part of me.”

Jaden and Willow are both stars in their own right. Jaden’s acting résumé includes All of Us, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Karate Kid and Skate Kitchen. He is also a model and a singer with one Grammy nomination under his belt for his work on Justin Bieber’s 2021 album, Justice.

Willow also got an early start in the entertainment industry with roles in Will’s 2007 action movie I Am Legend and Jada’s 2008 animated film Madagascar 2.

In 2010, she signed with JAY-Z’s label Roc Nation at age 9 after the release of her hit single “Whip My Hair.” She has released eight solo albums since then and performed at Coachella with her brother in 2023.

Jada is also a “bonus mom” to Will’s son, Trey, whom he shares with his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino.

07 of 08

Lisa Bonet’s three children

Lisa Bonet and Zoë Kravitz in Beverly Hills, California on Jan. 5, 2020; Lola Iolani Momoa, Lisa Bonet and Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa at the premiere of ‘Aquaman’ on Dec. 12, 2018.Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty; Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Bonet starred as Denise Huxtable in A Different World and became a mom at 21 on Dec. 1, 1988, when she gave birth to Zoë Kravitz in the home she shared with her then-husband, Lenny Kravitz.

After the pair divorced in 1993, Bonet continued to raise Zoë and encouraged her daughter’s creativity.

“Once she was born, she really became my art project.” Bonet told Esquire in August 2024. “She was the soul that kept me here.”

Zoë eventually followed in her mom’s footsteps and took up acting. Her breakout role was in 2011’s X-Men: First Class. She has since starred in hits such as Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), Big Little Lies (2017) and The Batman (2022). She made her directorial debut with 2024’s Blink Twice.

Bonet also had two more children with her second husband, Jason Momoa. The former couple divorced in 2024 after tying the knot in 2017. Their kids, Lola and Nakoa-Wolf, were born in 2007 and 2008, respectively.

“They got raised on the Justice League set,” Momoa told Esquire in October 2019 of Lola and Nakoa-Wolf. “Running around with the Batmobile… wearing the tiara from Wonder Woman.”

Lola graduated from high school in June 2026, while Nakoa-Wolf acted alongside his dad in Dune: Part Three, which is set to hit theaters in December 2026.

08 of 08

Lou Myers’ son

Lou Myers at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.Credit: Steve Grayson/WireImage

Lou Myers, who played Mr. Vernon Gaines, had one son, Melvin, and two grandchildren, Brayden and Christian.

Melvin has largely avoided the spotlight. His dad died at age 77 in 2013 from a heart-related emergency and complications with pneumonia, per Playbill.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”