Phylicia Rashād
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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.
Known for
Credits
Soul (2020)
as Libba Gardner (voice)
The Beekeeper (2024)
as Eloise Parker
Creed II (2018)
as Mary Anne Creed
Creed (2015)
as Mary Anne Creed
Creed III (2023)
as Mary-Anne Creed
Ruth & Boaz (2025)
as Naomi
tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
as "Sunday" Legend #12
Just Wright (2010)
as Ella McKnight
A Fall from Grace (2020)
as Sarah
Tour de Pharmacy (2017)
as Victoria Young
The Babysitter's Seduction (1996)
as Kate Jacobs
Black Box (2020)
as Lillian
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020)
as Grandmother Journey
For Colored Girls (2010)
as Gilda
Our Son (2023)
as Maya
Frankie & Alice (2010)
as Edna
Good Deeds (2012)
as Wilimena Deeds
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair (—)
as Judge Elaine Carter
Emily & Tim (2015)
as Emily (Segment 5)
A Raisin in the Sun (2008)
as Lena Younger
Steel Magnolias (2012)
as Clairee
The Earth Day Special (1990)
as Clair Huxtable
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002)
as Self
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1996)
as Ma Ponk
Free of Eden (1999)
as Desiree
Gods Behaving Badly (2013)
as Demeter
Show of Titles (2021)
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (2001)
as Cassandra Hawkins
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
as Self - Actress
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987)
as Eliza
David's Mother (1994)
as Gladys Johnson
Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023)
as Self (voice)
Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988)
as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
The Visit (2001)
as Dr. Coles
Polly (1989)
as Aunt Polly
The Old Settler (2001)
as Elizabeth Barney
The Cosby Show: A Look Back (2002)
as Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist (2021)
as Self
Hallelujah (1993)
as Mayor Turner
The Possession of Michael D. (1995)
as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
Jailbirds (1991)
as Janice Grant
False Witness (1989)
as Lynne Jacobi
Heaven Down Here (2023)
as Nancy
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand (2015)
as Self
Change of Plans (2011)
as Dorothy
We're Fighting Back (1981)
Actor
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee (2014)
as Self
The Debbie Allen Special (1989)
as Self
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens (2016)
Actor
Between the World and Me (2020)
as Self
Polly: Comin' Home! (1990)
as Aunt Polly
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous (2021)
as Anna Campbell
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala (2017)
as Self - Host
Dinosaur - Preshow (1998)
as Dr Helen Marsh
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio (1992)
as Self
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun" (2008)
as Self
Coretta Scott (—)
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (2021)
as Narrator (voice)
God and the Inner City (2003)
as Self (voice)
Charlie's Place (2018)
as Narrator (voice)
The Broad Coalition (1972)
Actor