Acting · Houston, Texas, USA · Born June 19, 1948
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.
MovieRuth & Boaz
2025
as Naomi
TVDiarra from Detroit
2024
as Vonda
MovieThe Beekeeper
2024
as Eloise Parker
MovieHeaven Down Here
2023
as Nancy
TVCurses!
2023
as Georgia (voice)
MovieOur Son
2023
as Maya
MovieBeing Mary Tyler Moore
2023
as Self (voice)
MovieCreed III
2023
as Mary-Anne Creed
TVSherri
2022
as Self - Guest
TVThe Gilded Age
2022
as Elizabeth Kirkland
TVInside the Black Box
2022
Movietick, tick... BOOM!
2021
as "Sunday" Legend #12
MovieShow of Titles
2021
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
MovieChadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
as Self
MovieAngry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
2021
as Anna Campbell
MovieTwenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
2021
as Narrator (voice)
MovieSoul
2020
as Libba Gardner (voice)
MovieBetween the World and Me
2020
as Self
MovieJingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
as Grandmother Journey
MovieBlack Box
2020
as Lillian
MovieChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self - Actress
MovieA Fall from Grace
2020
as Sarah
TVLittle America
2020
as Margaret Jean the Queen
TVTamron Hall
2019
as Self - Guest
TVDavid Makes Man
2019
as Dr. Woods-Trap
MovieCreed II
2018
as Mary Anne Creed
Charlie's Place
2018
as Narrator (voice)
TVStation 19
2018
as Pilar
MovieTour de Pharmacy
2017
as Victoria Young
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
2017
as Self - Host
TVThe Good Fight
2017
as Renetta Clark
TVThis Is Us
2016
as Carol Clarke
TVJean-Claude Van Johnson
2016
as Jane
MovieVH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
MovieCreed
2015
as Mary Anne Creed
MovieEmily & Tim
2015
as Emily (Segment 5)
MovieAugust Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
as Self
TVEmpire
2015
as Diana DuBois
MovieLife's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
as Self
MovieGods Behaving Badly
2013
as Demeter
TVDo No Harm
2013
as Dr. Vanessa Young
TVSofia the First
2013
as Mountain Witch (voice)
MovieSteel Magnolias
2012
as Clairee
MovieGood Deeds
2012
as Wilimena Deeds
MovieChange of Plans
2011
as Dorothy
MovieFrankie & Alice
2010
as Edna
MovieFor Colored Girls
2010
as Gilda
MovieJust Wright
2010
as Ella McKnight
MovieDreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
2008
as Self
MovieA Raisin in the Sun
2008
as Lena Younger
TVPsych
2006
as Winnifred Guster
TVEverybody Hates Chris
2005
TVGrey's Anatomy
2005
as Nell Timms
MovieGod and the Inner City
2003
as Self (voice)
MovieThe Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
as Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
MovieNBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
as Self
MovieMurder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2001
as Cassandra Hawkins
The Old Settler
2001
as Elizabeth Barney
MovieThe Visit
2001
as Dr. Coles
TVBull
2000
TVLittle Bill
1999
as Brenda Glover (voice)
MovieFree of Eden
1999
as Desiree
MovieDinosaur - Preshow
1998
as Dr Helen Marsh
TVCosby
1996
as Ruth Lucas
TVThe Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
as Self - Guest
MovieOnce Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
as Ma Ponk
MovieThe Babysitter's Seduction
1996
as Kate Jacobs
MovieThe Possession of Michael D.
1995
as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
TVIn the House
1995
TVHappily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
as Lady Fulton (voice)
TVTouched by an Angel
1994
as Elizabeth Jessup
MovieDavid's Mother
1994
as Gladys Johnson
Hallelujah
1993
as Mayor Turner
TVIntimate Portrait
1993
as Self
MovieBob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
1992
as Self
MovieJailbirds
1991
as Janice Grant
MoviePolly: Comin' Home!
1990
as Aunt Polly
TVBlossom
1990
MovieThe Earth Day Special
1990
as Clair Huxtable
MoviePolly
1989
as Aunt Polly
MovieFalse Witness
1989
as Lynne Jacobi
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
as Self
MovieMickey's 60th Birthday
1988
as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
TVTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987
as Jane Goodfellow (voice)
TVA Different World
1987
as Clair Huxtable
MovieUncle Tom's Cabin
1987
as Eliza
TVThe Cosby Show
1984
as Clair Huxtable
TVReading Rainbow
1983
as Narrator (voice)
TVAmerican Playhouse
1982
as Mayor Turner
MovieWe're Fighting Back
1981
MovieThe Broad Coalition
1972
TVTony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter
TVThe Emmy Awards
1949
as Self
TVMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948
Coretta Scott
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair
as Judge Elaine Carter
