Malcolm-Jamal Warner attends the 65th GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 5, 2023, in Los Angeles ; Malcolm-Jamal Warner with his wife and daughter. Credit :

Amy Sussman/Getty ; Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Instagram

• Malcolm-Jamal Warner married his wife in 2017
• The late Cosby Show star, who died on July 20, and his wife had one daughter together
• Warner kept his wife’s identity private, though he often spoke about being “very proud” of that aspect of his life

Malcolm-Jamal Warner was living his dream with his wife before his death at 54 years old.

After meeting through a mutual friend, the late Cosby Show actor wed his wife in 2017 and later welcomed one daughter. Although he kept his wife’s identity private, Warner opened up about their relationship during a May 2025 appearance on the Hot & Bothered podcast.

“I met my wife at 45, so like it’s OK to wait, you don’t have to be in your 20s looking for your soulmate,” he said. “So I talk about them a lot ’cause I’m very proud of my life and especially that aspect of my life,” he said.

While speaking of his marriage, Warner said he “never second-guessed it.”

“We’ve been together almost 10 years and we have never had a fight, an argument, a raised voice or a harsh word said to one another. … And it’s not like we agree on everything,” he said. “I think because we met later in life, we’ve just always been at a point where we have a way of communicating like adults.”

Nearly a decade after their love story began, Warner’s life was tragically cut short on July 20 during a family vacation in Costa Rica. A source told PEOPLE that the late actor died as a result of drowning while swimming.

So, who was Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s wife? Here’s everything to know about the late Cosby Show actor’s wife.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner attends SCAD aTVfest on Feb. 29, 2020, in Atlanta. Paras Griffin/Getty

In an April 2021 Instagram post, Warner shared some details about their early relationship, including their first date, during which neither was “checking for the other.”

He shared that they met through a mutual friend and initially thought it was “pretty clear that this was not going to become anything other than maybe a cool friendship.”

The late actor explained in the caption that while she was looking to start a family, he was set on not having kids in his future.

“We were clear we were on different pages,” Warner wrote. “And we were good. I had already decided the next chapters of my life would be about something bigger than family. 5 1/2 months later I was the one who asked, ‘So, how would you feel about starting a family?’ “

“We took more time to experience each other to make [sure] it was more than a cool concept,” he said. “Never in my wildest dreams did I envision that a few years later I’d be making my very first cake with the help of the beautiful manifestation of our love, who is truly our ‘mini us.’ “

Malcolm Jamal Warner attends the BBC America BAFTA TV Tea Party on Sept. 16, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty

During the podcast episode, Warner revealed that he married his wife in 2017. Though their relationship started off friendly because of their different stances on having kids, things began to shift after a few months of seeing each other casually.

“At some point during this time … I was like, ‘If I’m going to have a kid, this is the person that I would want to have it with,’ ” he said about their relationship, adding that he always knew “if something happened and we weren’t together romantically, she would still be the person that I would want to raise a child with.”

Warner continued, “I’ve never, never second-guessed it [since]. There was a moment where I realized when people say, ‘When you know, you know,’ that’s what that feeling is.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner and his daughter. Malcolm-Jamal Warner/Instagram

Warner and his wife welcomed one daughter, who was 8 years old at the time of his death in July 2025.

In September 2019, Warner shared a carousel of images on Instagram that hid his daughter’s face, explaining why he kept her out of the spotlight.

“Thank you for sharing in my joy as a father even though I don’t post her face. She has the rest of her life for that life,” he said. “Right now I just want her to BE…but it doesn’t stop me from BEing a proud papa!”

Elsewhere in the caption, Warner shared a heartfelt message about his “special and wonderful” daughter.

“Often I find myself just staring at her and wondering where she came from,” he wrote. “I am proud that we have been able to provide a wonderful, loving, and spiritually enriching environment as a home base into which ALL babies should be born and thrive. But the spirit with which she entered this world is hers and hers alone.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner visits SiriusXM Studios on June 11, 2024, in New York City. Santiago Felipe/Getty 

Although Warner grew up in the public eye, he kept his personal life largely out of the spotlight and did not reveal his wife’s or daughter’s names. On the Hot & Bothered podcast, the late actor explained that although he is “very proud” of that aspect of his life, he prefers to talk about it without disclosing details.

“Obviously I don’t post them,” he said. “I talk about them, because they are obviously the hugest parts of my life, the best parts of my life, best decisions I’ve ever made, but I like to keep them and their identity private.”

He continued, “I love talking about them because I want people to know that it is possible to be happy and to have love and love really be enriching.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner visits the SiriusXM Studios on Jan. 10, 2023, in New York City. Cindy Ord/Getty

On Monday, July 21, a source told PEOPLE that Warner died while swimming during a family vacation in Costa Rica.

Authorities in Costa Rica confirmed to PEOPLE that the actor died the previous day, July 20, as a result of drowning.

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) said that they “removed the body of a man who apparently died as a result of asphyxiation by submersion,” adding that the individual was later identified as Warner.

The OIJ shared in the statement that, based on preliminary information, the victim appeared to have “entered the sea” and been “swept away by a current.”

“The man was rescued by bystanders and taken to shore, where he received treatment from the Costa Rican Red Cross,” the statement read. “However, he was declared lifeless at the scene.”