All About the Late Actor’s Mom and Dad

Malcolm-Jamal Warner is survived by his parents, whom he often credited for shaping him into the person he was.

The Cosby Show star was welcomed by his mom, Pamela Warner, and dad, Robert Warner Jr., in New Jersey in 1970. Warner’s life was tragically cut short at 54 years old when he died after drowning during a family trip to Costa Rica on July 20, 2025. Nearly two months later, Pamela sat down with Good Morning America‘s Robin Roberts on Sept. 16 to open up about her son’s tragic death, detailing the “indescribable pain” that resonated through her body when she learned the news.

During one of his final interviews before his death, Warner reflected on how his father played a role in what he hoped his legacy would be. “There is part of me that, I will be able to leave this Earth knowing, and people knowing, that I was a good person,” he said during a May 2025 Hot & Bothered episode, going on to explain the sweet message his father often shared with him.

“People love you and people always talking about your career and your success and all of that, but what really makes me the most proud is that you are a good person,” Warner recalled his father saying.

The actor continued, “But I’m a good person because my dad’s a good person.”

From their influence on his career to what they’ve said about his death, here’s everything to know about Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s parents.

They welcomed him in New Jersey

Warner’s parents welcomed him in Jersey City, N.J., on Aug. 18, 1970. According to the Los Angeles Times, they named him after activist Malcolm X and jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal.

Pamela and Robert divorced when their son was 3 years old, according to the outlet.

Warner credits his dad with setting him up for greatness

During a January 2023 appearance on Breakfast Club Power 105.1 FM radio show, Warner opened up about his upbringing, sharing a story about how his father would make him read a “thick book,” titled Great American Negroes, during summer vacations when he was a kid.

“He would make me read these chapters and write book reports,” he said. “He was hardcore on making sure I understood my history and understood where I came from.”

Warner explained that his love for poetry was rooted in the way his father was “instilling all of these things in me and doing it through the arts.”

After being teased for carrying around For Malcolm: Poems on the Life and the Death of Malcolm X in elementary school, Warner then realized that other kids his age weren’t reading material “as sophisticated as I am.”

“That’s when it registered for me what my father was doing,” the actor said, noting that it wasn’t until he began to have a platform and influence on other kids that he realized his dad’s true impact.

“I called my dad, I was like, ‘You man, you set me up,’ ” he said. “He set me up for greatness. Whatever my path was going to be, he set me up.”

His mother was his manager

As Warner rose to fame as a child star, Pamela was leading the way behind the scenes as his manager. However, she previously told EBONY Magazine that she was a “reluctant stage parent,” having initially put her son in children’s theater as an extracurricular activity.

“Being in show business was the furthest from my mind,” she said, explaining that she tested his commitment to pursuing it as a career by increasing his chores and setting rules on school and homework as a priority.

But, Pamela supported his career, and later went on to write ShowBiz Consulting 411 presents: A Parent’s Guide to Managing Showbiz Kids, which was published in January 2024.

As for how Pamela made an impact on her son’s position in the industry, Warner spoke to PEOPLE nearly one year before his death and shared the piece of advice his mom gave him when the success of The Cosby Show first began.

“When The Cosby Show first hit and, out the box, it was this phenomenon … I was 14 years old, and my mother sat me down and said, ‘Listen baby, it’s great that this show is the phenomenon that it is, but at some point this show is going to be over,’ ” he recalled. “‘This show could be over next year. What are you going to do when this show is over?’ “

Warner credited his mom as his biggest influence

Nearly one year before his death, Warner spoke to PEOPLE about how his mother “made the most impact” on his life.

“I think probably the biggest influence — and I talk about this all the time, and I will probably continue to talk about this until my dying day — my mother. I think she really made the most impact on me,” he said.

Just after he died, a source told PEOPLE that although Warner and his mom no longer lived in the same city, they remained “incredibly close.”

“She was a mother, but she was also his best friend,” the source said.

Pamela has opened up about the “indescribable pain” of her son’s death

On Sept. 16, Pamela appeared on Good Morning America, where she gave her first sit-down interview since Warner’s death and opened up about the “indescribable pain” that she felt when she learned the news.

“It was from the bottom of my soul,” Pamela said of her scream that was heard by neighbors. “And what came up and what came out was huge, it was an indescribable pain that resonated throughout my body.”

However, she felt as though that was only the “physical part of it.”

“The spiritual part of it was — that was his time,” she said. “This is what I believe and what I feel.”

The interview didn’t mark Pamela’s first time speaking out following her son’s death, as she created the “Malcolm-Jamal Warner Living Legacy” Instagram account in August 2025. In her first post, she confirmed that the account was being “lovingly run by his mother, Pamela Warner.”