Phylicia Rashād
Known for: Acting
Born: June 19, 1948
Place of birth: Houston, Texas, USA
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.
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Filmography
62 movies · 35 TV shows, newest first
7.5
Ruth & Boaz
2025
4.7
Diarra from Detroit
2024
7.3
The Beekeeper
2024
7.7
Heaven Down Here
2023
6.2
Curses!
2023
6.3
Our Son
2023
6.7
Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023
7.1
Creed III
2023
2.6
Sherri
2022
7.7
The Gilded Age
2022
5.0
Inside the Black Box
2022
7.6
tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
NR
Show of Titles
2021
8.0
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
NR
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
2021
NR
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
2021
8.1
Soul
2020
7.9
Between the World and Me
2020
6.5
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
6.4
Black Box
2020
8.1
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
7.0
A Fall from Grace
2020
6.6
Little America
2020
4.5
Tamron Hall
2019
6.7
David Makes Man
2019
7.0
Creed II
2018NR
Charlie's Place
2018
8.2
Station 19
2018
6.7
Tour de Pharmacy
2017NR
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
2017
7.6
The Good Fight
2017
8.2
This Is Us
2016
6.6
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
2016
NR
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
7.4
Creed
2015
5.6
Emily & Tim
2015
NR
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
7.1
Empire
2015
1.5
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
2.5
Gods Behaving Badly
2013
6.2
Do No Harm
2013
7.2
Sofia the First
2013
6.9
Steel Magnolias
2012
6.3
Good Deeds
2012
6.7
Change of Plans
2011
5.9
Frankie & Alice
2010
6.7
For Colored Girls
2010
6.5
Just Wright
2010
NR
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
2008
6.1
A Raisin in the Sun
2008
7.9
Psych
2006
8.1
Everybody Hates Chris
2005
8.2
Grey's Anatomy
2005
NR
God and the Inner City
2003
7.8
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
6.0
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
6.5
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
20013.8
The Old Settler
2001
7.9
The Visit
2001
6.8
Bull
2000
6.9
Little Bill
1999
9.7
Free of Eden
1999
10.0
Dinosaur - Preshow
1998
6.1
Cosby
1996
4.1
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
4.2
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
5.8
The Babysitter's Seduction
1996
5.4
The Possession of Michael D.
1995
7.8
In the House
1995
6.3
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
7.2
Touched by an Angel
1994
8.3
David's Mother
19946.5
Hallelujah
1993
4.5
Intimate Portrait
1993
NR
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
1992
7.7
Jailbirds
1991
8.5
Polly: Comin' Home!
1990
6.2
Blossom
1990
6.1
The Earth Day Special
1990
8.2
Polly
1989
9.0
False Witness
1989NR
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
6.8
Mickey's 60th Birthday
1988
7.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987
7.1
A Different World
1987
7.0
Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987NR
Nell Carter... Never Too Old to Dream
1986
7.0
The Cosby Show
1984
8.4
Reading Rainbow
1983
6.6
American Playhouse
1982
7.0
We're Fighting Back
1981
10.0
The Broad Coalition
1972
NR
Tony Awards
1956
7.9
The Emmy Awards
1949
8.0
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948NR
Coretta Scott
—NR
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair
—