Malcolm-Jamal Warner's widow on actor's death: "My body went through shock"
Tenisha Warner, the widow of "The Cosby Show" actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, spoke exclusively to "CBS Mornings" co-host Gayle King about coping with grief one year after his death.
Updated on: July 23, 2026 / 8:37 AM EDT / CBS News
One year after the death of actor and director Malcolm-Jamal Warner , his widow, Tenisha Warner , reflected on what she calls the worst day of her life, saying it's difficult to relive.
"All I could think about was my daughter and what I needed to do to continue to be her mother and be her only parent," Warner told "CBS Mornings" in an exclusive interview.
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, his wife and their daughter, who was 8 at the time, were vacationing in Costa Rica last summer when "The Cosby Show" actor drowned at the age of 54. Tenisha Warner said his death "feels unfair," adding that she "can't remember the details" of that day or recall where she was at the time.
Warner initially remained private after her husband's tragic death but decided to speak out about her grief and post to social media last September.
"I realized that there was a world out there that he had touched in such powerful ways … that I wasn't necessarily seeing because my grief was sacred to me and I needed to keep it mine," she said.