Phylicia Rashād
Acting
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.
TV Shows(34)
Diarra from Detroit
Vonda
2024
Curses!
Georgia (voice)
2023
Sherri
Self - Guest
2022
The Gilded Age
Elizabeth Kirkland
2022
Inside the Black Box
2022
Little America
Margaret Jean the Queen
2020
Tamron Hall
Self - Guest
2019
David Makes Man
Dr. Woods-Trap
2019
Station 19
Pilar
2018
The Good Fight
Renetta Clark
2017
This Is Us
Carol Clarke
2016
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Jane
2016
Empire
Diana DuBois
2015
Do No Harm
Dr. Vanessa Young
2013
Sofia the First
Mountain Witch (voice)
2013
Psych
Winnifred Guster
2006
Everybody Hates Chris
2005
Grey's Anatomy
Nell Timms
2005
Bull
2000
Little Bill
Brenda Glover (voice)
1999
Cosby
Ruth Lucas
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest
1996
In the House
1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Lady Fulton (voice)
1995
Touched by an Angel
Elizabeth Jessup
1994
Intimate Portrait
Self
1993
Blossom
1990
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Jane Goodfellow (voice)
1987
A Different World
Clair Huxtable
1987
The Cosby Show
Clair Huxtable
1984
Reading Rainbow
Narrator (voice)
1983
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948
Movies(58)
Ruth & Boaz
Naomi
2025
The Beekeeper
Eloise Parker
2024
Heaven Down Here
Nancy
2023
Our Son
Maya
2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Self (voice)
2023
Creed III
Mary-Anne Creed
2023
tick, tick... BOOM!
"Sunday" Legend #12
2021
Show of Titles
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Self
2021
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Anna Campbell
2021
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Narrator (voice)
2021
Soul
Libba Gardner (voice)
2020
Between the World and Me
Self
2020
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Grandmother Journey
2020
Black Box
Lillian
2020
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Self - Actress
2020
A Fall from Grace
Sarah
2020
Creed II
Mary Anne Creed
2018
Charlie's Place
Narrator (voice)
2018
Tour de Pharmacy
Victoria Young
2017
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Self - Host
2017
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
Creed
Mary Anne Creed
2015
Emily & Tim
Emily (Segment 5)
2015
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Self
2015
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
2014
Gods Behaving Badly
Demeter
2013
Steel Magnolias
Clairee
2012
Good Deeds
Wilimena Deeds
2012
Change of Plans
Dorothy
2011
Frankie & Alice
Edna
2010
For Colored Girls
Gilda
2010
Just Wright
Ella McKnight
2010
A Raisin in the Sun
Lena Younger
2008
God and the Inner City
Self (voice)
2003
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
2002
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Self
2002
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
Cassandra Hawkins
2001
The Old Settler
Elizabeth Barney
2001
The Visit
Dr. Coles
2001
Free of Eden
Desiree
1999
Dinosaur - Preshow
Dr Helen Marsh
1998
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Ma Ponk
1996
The Babysitter's Seduction
Kate Jacobs
1996
The Possession of Michael D.
Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
1995
David's Mother
Gladys Johnson
1994
Hallelujah
Mayor Turner
1993
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
Self
1992
Jailbirds
Janice Grant
1991
Polly: Comin' Home!
Aunt Polly
1990
The Earth Day Special
Clair Huxtable
1990
Polly
Aunt Polly
1989
False Witness
Lynne Jacobi
1989
Mickey's 60th Birthday
Disneyland Cleaning Lady
1988
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Eliza
1987
We're Fighting Back
1981
The Broad Coalition
1972
Coretta Scott
Self - Narrator (voice)