Phylicia Rashād
Phylicia Rashad (née Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three-year contract ended in May 2024. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received two Tony Awards as well as nominations for six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000), and Brenda Glover in Little Bill (1999–2004). She was also Emmy-nominated for her roles in A Raisin in the Sun (2008) and This Is Us (2019–2021). On stage, Rashad became the first Black actress to win the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, for a revival of A Raisin in the Sun (2004). She won her second Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Dominique Morisseau's Skeleton Crew (2022). Her other Broadway credits include Into the Woods (1988), Jelly's Last Jam (1993), Gem of the Ocean (2004), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (2008). She has appeared in various films such as For Colored Girls (2010), Good Deeds (2012), Creed (2015), Creed II (2018), Creed III (2023), and The Beekeeper (2024). She lent her voice to the Disney-Pixar animated film Soul (2020). In the 21st century, she has directed revivals of three plays by August Wilson, in major theaters in Seattle, Princeton, New Jersey; and Los Angeles. She also directed Purpose (play) in its 2024-2025 run at the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway.
Born: 19 June 1948
Played In
Ruth & Boaz
Naomi
Diarra from Detroit
Vonda
The Beekeeper
Eloise Parker
Heaven Down Here
Nancy
Curses!
Georgia (voice)
Our Son
Maya
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Self (voice)
Creed III
Mary-Anne Creed
Sherri
Self - Guest
The Gilded Age
Elizabeth Kirkland
Inside the Black Box
tick, tick... BOOM!
"Sunday" Legend #12
Show of Titles
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Self
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Anna Campbell
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Narrator (voice)
Soul
Libba Gardner (voice)
Between the World and Me
Self
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Grandmother Journey
Black Box
Lillian
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self - Actress
A Fall from Grace
Sarah
Little America
Margaret Jean the Queen
Tamron Hall
Self - Guest
David Makes Man
Dr. Woods-Trap
Creed II
Mary Anne Creed
Charlie's Place
Narrator (voice)
Station 19
Pilar
Tour de Pharmacy
Victoria Young
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Self - Host
The Good Fight
Renetta Clark
This Is Us
Carol Clarke
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Jane
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
Creed
Mary Anne Creed
Emily & Tim
Emily (Segment 5)
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Self
Empire
Diana DuBois
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
Gods Behaving Badly
Demeter
Do No Harm
Dr. Vanessa Young
Sofia the First
Mountain Witch (voice)
Steel Magnolias
Clairee
Good Deeds
Wilimena Deeds
Change of Plans
Dorothy
Frankie & Alice
Edna
For Colored Girls
Gilda
Just Wright
Ella McKnight
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
Self
A Raisin in the Sun
Lena Younger
Psych
Winnifred Guster
Everybody Hates Chris
Grey's Anatomy
Nell Timms
God and the Inner City
Self (voice)
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
Cassandra Hawkins
The Old Settler
Elizabeth Barney
The Visit
Dr. Coles
Bull
Little Bill
Brenda Glover (voice)
Free of Eden
Desiree
Dinosaur - Preshow
Dr Helen Marsh
Cosby
Ruth Lucas
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Ma Ponk
The Babysitter's Seduction
Kate Jacobs
The Possession of Michael D.
Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
In the House
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Lady Fulton (voice)
Touched by an Angel
Elizabeth Jessup
David's Mother
Gladys Johnson
Hallelujah
Mayor Turner
Intimate Portrait
Self
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
Self
Jailbirds
Janice Grant
Polly: Comin' Home!
Aunt Polly
Blossom
The Earth Day Special
Clair Huxtable
Polly
Aunt Polly
False Witness
Lynne Jacobi
The Debbie Allen Special
Self
Mickey's 60th Birthday
Disneyland Cleaning Lady
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Jane Goodfellow (voice)
A Different World
Clair Huxtable
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Eliza
The Cosby Show
Clair Huxtable
Reading Rainbow
Narrator (voice)
We're Fighting Back
The Broad Coalition
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
The Emmy Awards
Self
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Coretta Scott
Self - Narrator (voice)
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair
Judge Elaine Carter