Geoffrey Owens: The Actor continues to move forward after success on The Cosby Show

Geoffrey Owens: Getting to know him

When most people think of Geoffrey Owens there are two memories that come to mind. The first is his days as Elvin Tibideaux who was married to Sondra Huxtable (Sabrina Le Beauf) and had twins named Winnie and Mandella. The second is the 2018 news report that seemingly had the actor living in poverty. There is so much more to this talented actor that people should know.

Geoffrey Louis Owens was born on March 18, 1961, and is well known for his portrayal of the son-in-law of Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) on The Cosby Show (1985–1992). His real father is United States Congressman Major Owens and his mother Ethel was Major's first wife. Geoffrey has two siblings from his father's second marriage. You can read more detail by clicking on the following link.

Owens then and now

Owens was in a production of Peter Pan while in high school and this is what led him to acting as a profession. After the number one series from the 1980s went off the air the actor continued in his craft in various roles including Casca at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in 2011. What he did not have was a steady job but bit parts here and there sometimes having no credits for several years at a time. He was never a down on his luck actor but rather a man who had the wisdom to take on extra work in between gigs.

The above link chronicles some of his early roles after The Cosby Show went off the air. This article deals with the years just prior to 2018. In 2015, Owens was an obstetrician on the NBC drama series The Slap, in the episode "Ritchie." That same year he appeared in Bluebloods and Divorce. In 2016 he was in the film Youth in Oregon In 2017, he portrayed an assistant dean on the FOX drama series Lucifer, in the episode "Deceptive Little Parasite.

Unflattering headlines

Owens made headlines in 2018 when photos surfaced in The Daily Mail showing the actor working in a Trader Joe's. The person who shared the obviously thought it was a good idea to let the world know the Cosby Show cast member had fallen on hard times but it backfired. The majority of people who viewed the image characterized it as "job shaming" and the actor agreed.

He had been quietly working in between gigs to make sure he had enough money to care for his family. After being put on blast, however, he quit his job as he did not care for the unwanted attention. Geoffrey, a Yale graduate, found that his story had a silver lining because singer Niki Minaj gave him $25,000.00 dollars. Producer Tyler Perry heard about his plight and offered Owens a ten-episode role in his OWN series The Haves and the Have Nots.

Moving forward

That same year (2018) Owens also was in the film Hibiscus and had guest-starring roles on the television series Billions, NCIS: New Orleans, and Elementary. In 2019 he portrayed Pastor Steve in On Becoming a God in Central Florida for 2 episodes and was in the television movie Detective Moscovitz .

In 2020 Owens appeared in Power, Mythic Quest: Raven's Banquet had supporting roles in the films Fatale, Fizzle and two others Tale of the Wet Dog and Hide and Seek which have not yet been released. He also starred in the film Impossible Monsters, where he played a police detective. Owens was quoted as saying about this film role:

"I’m usually cast as dads, lawyers, doctors, teachers, and so to play a detective it was really fun," In 2021 Owens had a supporting role in Power Book II: Ghost, Bless This Mess, That Damn Michael Che, and The Good Fight. Owens has been married to his wife, Josette since 1995 and the couple has one son. Owens launched an Instagram show Shift Happens where he shares that a lot of good things have happened to him and how his life did not go in the direction the haters were expecting.