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.
Ruth & Boaz
Naomi
The Beekeeper
Eloise Parker
Heaven Down Here
Nancy
Our Son
Maya
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Self (voice)
Creed III
Mary-Anne Creed
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
Creed II
Mary Anne Creed
Charlie's Place
Narrator (voice)
Tour de Pharmacy
Victoria Young
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Self - Host
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
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Self
Gods Behaving Badly
Demeter
Steel Magnolias
Clairee
Good Deeds
Wilimena Deeds
Change of Plans
Dorothy
Frankie & Alice
Edna
For Colored Girls
Gilda
Just Wright
Ella McKnight
A Raisin in the Sun
Lena Younger
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
Free of Eden
Desiree
Dinosaur - Preshow
Dr Helen Marsh
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)
David's Mother
Gladys Johnson
Hallelujah
Mayor Turner
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
Self
Jailbirds
Janice Grant
Polly: Comin' Home!
Aunt Polly
The Earth Day Special
Clair Huxtable
Polly
Aunt Polly
False Witness
Lynne Jacobi
Mickey's 60th Birthday
Disneyland Cleaning Lady
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Eliza
We're Fighting Back
The Broad Coalition