After years in the media spotlight, actress Robin Givens, once married to boxing legend Mike Tyson, has finally found a quiet place to call home.
Givens, born in New York in November 1964, once starred in TV's Head of the Class and The Women of Brewster Place, has actually lived under our radar for about one year. She said she couldn't be happier thanks to the serene surroundings and quality schools.
"I've lived in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, around all the hustle and bustle for years," said the actress, model and author, who made her first TV appearance in 1984 on The Cosby Show.
"I would come down and stay at the , when I was taking a break and I fell in love with the area," she said.
So much so that she packed herself up along with her son and moved here permanently. That's not to say that she doesn't visit Hollywood any more, in fact, last month, she finished a featured role in Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Pasadena Playhouse. The play was based on author Pearl Cleage's 1999 tribute to depression-era Harlem and Givens played Angel Allen, a struggling blues singer, and nightclub performer who cannot find a job.
While that might have been a role she played last month, Givens is not having any trouble settling into her life in Orange County or finding more acting jobs.
"What I love about Laguna Niguel is that people here put their families first and that's me. I like the area, too, because nobody is in the business, and I like the anonymity," said Givens, who also has an 18-year-old son in college. "I love the schools and the warmth of the community. It's the first time that my son has been in public schools, and I was told they were great and they are."
She also likes the fact that she isn't treated like a celebrity, but just a mom who sometimes helps out at her son's school.
"When he was at , he loved it, his teacher was great, and the curriculum here is amazing," she said. "I volunteered at the end of last year and we took his class down to the beach at . We saw some unbelievable It was so magicial."
In between trying to drop off and pick her son up after school daily, she was traveling back and forth to Pasadena to appear in the play.
"The play has been wonderful, I liked the character that I played," she said. "Fighting the traffic was tough, I do have an apartment there, but I like to be here for my son."
But is she anything like the character she played in the play in real life?
"Not at all," she laughed. "I find her exhausting, and the mom in me says be quiet, take a breath or go to a yoga class."
Givens is also still passionate about acting and said she will begin filming a comedy in February. "I've always loved to act, it's in my blood," she said.
And when asked about her infamous marriage to Tyson from 1988 to 1989, she says she doesn't look back.
"That was 25 years ago and I don't live in the past or talk about it," she firmly said.
As for now, she's living in the present, in Laguna Niguel with her son, Billy, 12, who incidentally likes, "football and playing the trumpet."
"It will be nice not to have to fight traffic up to L.A. for a while," she said. "I'm looking forward to some quiet time with my family for the holidays."
