Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s family is honoring his memory in a special way.
On Friday (Sept 12), Tenisha Warner, the wife of the late Cosby Show actor, spoke out for the first time since he died in July at age 54 after drowning in a rip current in Costa Rica.
She shared a photo of herself and her husband beaming on their wedding day. The post, she said, came one day before they would have celebrated their eighth anniversary. The doctor of psychology also gave update on her family’s healing through their grief.
“Thank you for holding us in so much love during this tender time,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a photo from their 2017 wedding. “Tomorrow marks our anniversary—and my heart is wide open. For the first time, I’m sharing a glimpse of the love that began it all. I can still hear my husband’s laugh, still feel the way he made room for every part of me—every tear, every dream.”
Along with her tribute, Tenisha also announced the launch of two partnership organizations: The Warner Family Foundation, established as a scholarship program for young artists, and River & Ember, designed to offer tools to help deepen the bond between parents and children.
“Today, in his honor, my daughter and I are launching River & Ember and officially opening The Warner Family Foundation,” Tenisha wrote. “Together we carry the legacy my husband and I began — one that nurtures children’s inner light and gives young artists the freedom to create outside the lines.”
Warner was on a family vacation in Costa Rica and swimming with his 8-year-old daughter, when he got caught in a riptide and drowned on July 20. There were no lifeguards on duty at the time. Nearby surfers saw the pair struggling and managed to get them to shore, but Warner was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
The actor was best known for playing teen Theo Huxtable on hit sitcom “The Cosby Show” from 1984 to 1992. He later led “Malcolm & Eddie,” alongside Eddie Griffin, then starred on “Reed Between the Lines” with Tracee Ellis Ross.