Arlene Litman was an American music teacher best known as the mother of actress Lisa Bonet. Born Arlene Joyce Litman on February 11, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she came from an Ashkenazi Jewish family with Polish and Russian roots. In 1967 she married African-American opera singer Allen Bonet, a union that faced opposition from parts of her family. Their daughter Lisa would grow up to become a television star, and Arlene raised her mainly as a single mother after the marriage ended. She died in 1998 at the age of 58.
Arlene never sought the spotlight herself, which is why reliable biographical details about her are concentrated in a few documented areas: her family background, her marriage, her work as a teacher, and her role in Lisa’s life. This profile gathers what is verifiably known, drawn from published biographical sources, and clearly marks the few details that remain unconfirmed.
Key takeaways: Arlene Litman (1940-1998) was a music teacher and the mother of actress Lisa Bonet. She married opera singer Allen Bonet in 1967 and raised Lisa mainly as a single mother. Her parents were Eli Litman and Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg, and her granddaughter is actress Zoë Kravitz. She died of breast cancer on March 3, 1998, at age 58.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Arlene Joyce Litman |
| Date of birth | February 11, 1940 |
| Birthplace | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Music teacher |
| Father | Eli Litman |
| Mother | Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg |
| Sibling | Barry Litman (brother) |
| Former husband | Allen Bonet (married June 12, 1967) |
| Child | Lisa Michelle Bonet |
| Granddaughter | Zoë Kravitz |
| Date of death | March 3, 1998 (age 58, breast cancer) |
| Net worth | Not reliably known |
Who was Arlene Litman?
Arlene Joyce Litman was born on February 11, 1940, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She grew up in an Ashkenazi Jewish family with roots in Poland and Russia. Her father, Eli Litman, reportedly lived from 1912 to 1986, and her mother, Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg, from 1916 to 2016. She also had a brother, Barry Litman. Little reliable information survives about her childhood beyond this family framework.
As an adult, Arlene worked as a music teacher. Some reports describe her more generally as a schoolteacher, but music teaching is the profession most consistently connected to her name. Details such as where she taught, how long she worked, and where she trained have not been widely documented. She did not pursue a public entertainment career; her connection to fame came entirely through her daughter.
How did Arlene Litman meet Allen Bonet?
Arlene married Allen Bonet on June 12, 1967, in San Francisco, California. Allen was an African-American opera singer, and their shared connection to music is sometimes described as part of what brought them together. The marriage was interracial at a time when such unions still drew open disapproval, and according to later accounts from Lisa, some members of Arlene’s family did not accept the marriage.
Arlene came from a white Jewish family. According to later accounts from Lisa, some members of Arlene’s family did not accept her marriage to Allen. Lisa also said that growing up as a biracial child was difficult and that she did not always feel accepted by her mother’s side of the family. Arlene’s personal religious beliefs are less clear, with some secondary sources describing her as Christian while other accounts emphasize her Jewish family background. What is consistent across accounts is that she stood by the marriage despite the pressure, a choice that defined the family Lisa grew up in.
Who is Lisa Bonet?
Arlene and Allen’s daughter, Lisa Michelle Bonet, was born on November 16, 1967, in San Francisco. She became an actress best known for playing Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, later appearing in A Different World, Angel Heart, Enemy of the State, High Fidelity, and Ray Donovan, among other projects. In 1995 she legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, though she continued to use Lisa Bonet professionally.
Lisa began appearing in commercials as a child and joined The Cosby Show as a teenager, which means Arlene was raising a working young actress while also holding the family together on her own. Lisa has described her mother as a good woman who loved her, a simple tribute that carries weight given how little Arlene said publicly about herself.
Lisa’s career would go on to span decades and genres: after The Cosby Show she starred in the spin-off A Different World, then moved into film with roles in Angel Heart, Enemy of the State, High Fidelity, and Biker Boyz, and later television including Life on Mars and Ray Donovan. Through each phase, Arlene remained the private foundation of a very public family story, the grandmother whose name would later be honored in a beauty collection while she herself had never sought a headline.
Why did Arlene Litman raise Lisa as a single mother?
Arlene and Allen’s marriage did not last. The exact date of their divorce is not clearly documented, though some accounts say they separated not long after Lisa was born, and Allen was reportedly absent from much of Lisa’s childhood. After the separation, Arlene reportedly moved to San Fernando, California, and raised Lisa mainly on her own.
Raising a biracial daughter alone in that era, while navigating the disapproval of parts of her own family, could not have been easy. Lisa has spoken about feeling different while growing up because of her mixed-race background. Through it, Arlene remained a steady presence, supporting Lisa’s early career and showing up during difficult moments, including reportedly coming to help after the 1994 Northridge earthquake left Lisa and her own young daughter in a difficult situation.
Who was Allen Bonet?
Allen Bonet was an opera singer and Lisa Bonet’s father. After his marriage to Arlene ended, he later remarried and had several more children, giving Lisa a number of paternal half-siblings (reports differ on the exact number, so a firm total is best avoided). Allen died in 2008, reportedly from a heart attack.
What was Arlene Litman’s relationship with Zoë Kravitz?
Arlene was the grandmother of Zoë Kravitz, the daughter of Lisa Bonet and musician Lenny Kravitz. Zoë was born in 1988, so Arlene lived through part of her granddaughter’s childhood before her death in 1998. Years later, Zoë honored her grandmother publicly: in 2019, while working with YSL Beauté, she named a lipstick shade “Arlene’s Nude No. 121,” saying the soft nude color reminded her of Arlene because her grandmother usually wore very little makeup. It became one of the most visible tributes to Arlene after her death.
How did Arlene Litman die?
Arlene Litman died on March 3, 1998, at the age of 58. The reported cause of death was breast cancer, with one source placing her death in Los Angeles, California. She did not live to see the full arc of her daughter’s career or her granddaughter’s rise, but the family lines she anchored remain prominent in entertainment.
Her story is, in the end, the story of a woman who lived outside fame while being permanently attached to it. She taught music, raised a daughter who became a star, endured a family rift over an interracial marriage, and died before she could see her granddaughter honor her name on a lipstick. The documented facts are not many, but they are enough to show a life of consequence, which is more than the blank “not disclosed” rows ever conveyed.
What was Arlene Litman’s net worth?
Arlene Litman’s personal net worth is not reliably known. There is no clear public record of her salary, assets, or finances from her teaching career. As with other private figures profiled here, precise dollar figures attached to her name elsewhere should be treated as speculation.
Frequently asked questions
Who was Arlene Litman?
Arlene Litman (1940-1998) was an American music teacher best known as the mother of actress Lisa Bonet.
Who was Lisa Bonet’s father?
Opera singer Allen Bonet, whom Arlene married on June 12, 1967. The marriage later ended, and Arlene raised Lisa mainly as a single mother.
What was Arlene Litman’s background?
She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, into an Ashkenazi Jewish family with Polish and Russian roots. Her parents were Eli Litman and Sylvia Ellen Goldvarg.
Was Arlene Litman related to Zoë Kravitz?
Yes, she was Zoë Kravitz’s grandmother. In 2019 Zoë named a YSL lipstick shade “Arlene’s Nude No. 121” in her honor.
How did Arlene Litman die?
She died of breast cancer on March 3, 1998, at age 58.
What was Arlene Litman’s net worth?
Her net worth is not reliably known; no verified estimate exists.
Related reading
For more profiles of public figures and their families, visit TheWeirdNewsBlog homepage. You may also enjoy our biography of Shane Culkin, the brother of actor Macaulay Culkin, and the profile of Josh Winterhalt, martial artist and husband of actress Sarah Wayne Callies.
