Phylicia Rashād
Biography
Phylicia Rashad, born Phylicia Ayers-Allen on June 19, 1948, in Houston, Texas, is an American actress known for her roles on stage and screen. She served as dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University until her three-year contract ended in May 2024. Rashad has received two Tony Awards and nominations for six Primetime Emmy Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She is best known for playing Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992, which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and 1986. Her other television roles include playing Ruth Lucas on Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and Brenda Glover in Little Bill from 1999 to 2004.
Career overview
Phylicia Rashad is an American actress born on June 19, 1948, in Houston, Texas. Known for her work across stage and screen, she has earned recognition throughout her career, including two Tony Awards, six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.
Her television career includes prominent roles such as playing Clair Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show from 1984 to 1992, a role that earned her Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 1985 and 1986. She later played Ruth Lucas on Cosby from 1996 to 2000 and voiced Brenda Glover in Little Bill from 1999 to 2004. In total, she has amassed 96 known acting credits in television and film.
Outside of her acting career, Rashad served as dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University until her three-year contract ended in May 2024.
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Career timeline
Full filmography
- Ruth & Boaz (2025) as Naomi
- The Beekeeper (2024) as Eloise Parker
- Diarra from Detroit (2024) as Vonda
- Creed III (2023) as Mary-Anne Creed
- Curses! (2023) as Georgia (voice)
- Heaven Down Here (2023) as Nancy
- Our Son (2023) as Maya
- Being Mary Tyler Moore (2023) as Self (voice)
- Sherri (2022) as Self - Guest
- The Gilded Age (2022) as Elizabeth Kirkland
- Inside the Black Box (2022)
- tick, tick... BOOM! (2021) as "Sunday" Legend #12
- Show of Titles (2021) as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
- Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous (2021) as Anna Campbell
- Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist (2021) as Self
- Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (2021) as Narrator (voice)
- Soul (2020) as Libba Gardner (voice)
- Little America (2020) as Margaret Jean the Queen
- A Fall from Grace (2020) as Sarah
- Black Box (2020) as Lillian
- Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (2020) as Grandmother Journey
- Between the World and Me (2020) as Self
- Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020) as Self - Actress
- Tamron Hall (2019) as Self - Guest
- David Makes Man (2019) as Dr. Woods-Trap
- Station 19 (2018) as Pilar
- Creed II (2018) as Mary Anne Creed
- Charlie's Place (2018) as Narrator (voice)
- The Good Fight (2017) as Renetta Clark
- Tour de Pharmacy (2017) as Victoria Young
- JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala (2017) as Self - Host
- This Is Us (2016) as Carol Clarke
- Jean-Claude Van Johnson (2016) as Jane
- VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens (2016)
- Empire (2015) as Diana DuBois
- Creed (2015) as Mary Anne Creed
- Emily & Tim (2015) as Emily (Segment 5)
- August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand (2015) as Self
- Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee (2014) as Self
- Sofia the First (2013) as Mountain Witch (voice)
- Gods Behaving Badly (2013) as Demeter
- Do No Harm (2013) as Dr. Vanessa Young
- Steel Magnolias (2012) as Clairee
- Good Deeds (2012) as Wilimena Deeds
- Change of Plans (2011) as Dorothy
- Frankie & Alice (2010) as Edna
- Just Wright (2010) as Ella McKnight
- For Colored Girls (2010) as Gilda
- A Raisin in the Sun (2008) as Lena Younger
- Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun" (2008) as Self
- Psych (2006) as Winnifred Guster
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) as Nell Timms
- Grey's Anatomy (2005) Director
- Everybody Hates Chris (2005)
- God and the Inner City (2003) as Self (voice)
- NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002) as Self
- The Cosby Show: A Look Back (2002) as Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
- Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man (2001) as Cassandra Hawkins
- The Visit (2001) as Dr. Coles
- The Old Settler (2001) as Elizabeth Barney
- Bull (2000)
- Little Bill (1999) as Brenda Glover (voice)
- Free of Eden (1999) as Desiree
- Dinosaur - Preshow (1998) as Dr Helen Marsh
- Cosby (1996) as Ruth Lucas
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show (1996) as Self - Guest
- The Babysitter's Seduction (1996) as Kate Jacobs
- Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored (1996) as Ma Ponk
- Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child (1995) as Lady Fulton (voice)
- In the House (1995)
- The Possession of Michael D. (1995) as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
- Touched by an Angel (1994) as Elizabeth Jessup
- David's Mother (1994) as Gladys Johnson
- Intimate Portrait (1993) as Self
- Hallelujah (1993) as Mayor Turner
- Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio (1992) as Self
- Jailbirds (1991) as Janice Grant
- Blossom (1990)
- The Earth Day Special (1990) as Clair Huxtable
- Polly: Comin' Home! (1990) as Aunt Polly
- False Witness (1989) as Lynne Jacobi
- Polly (1989) as Aunt Polly
- The Debbie Allen Special (1989) as Self
- Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988) as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) as Jane Goodfellow (voice)
- A Different World (1987) as Clair Huxtable
- Uncle Tom's Cabin (1987) as Eliza
- The Cosby Show (1984) as Clair Huxtable
- Reading Rainbow (1983) as Narrator (voice)
- American Playhouse (1982) as Mayor Turner
- We're Fighting Back (1981)
- The Broad Coalition (1972)
- Tony Awards (1956) as Self - Presenter
- The Emmy Awards (1949) as Self
- Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (1948)
- Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair as Judge Elaine Carter
- Coretta Scott as Self - Narrator (voice)