Phylicia Rashād
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Known Credits
91
Gender
Female
Birthday
1948-06-19 (77 years old)
Place of Birth
Houston, Texas, USA
Phylicia Rashād
Biography
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.
Known For
Grey's Anatomy
Psych
This Is Us
Sherri
Station 19
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Tony Awards
The Cosby Show
The Good Fight
Everybody Hates Chris
The Beekeeper
Touched by an Angel
Tamron Hall
A Different World
The Gilded Age
Sofia the First
Intimate Portrait
Soul
Creed
Blossom
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Curses!
Creed II
Just Wright
Creed III
Reading Rainbow
In the House
Emily & Tim
Black Box
Little America
Cosby
Good Deeds
Bull
Ruth & Boaz
Steel Magnolias
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Our Son
False Witness
Change of Plans
Tour de Pharmacy
Jailbirds
Polly
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Hallelujah
Little Bill
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
tick, tick... BOOM!
The Visit
David Makes Man
David's Mother
The Babysitter's Seduction
The Emmy Awards
A Raisin in the Sun
The Possession of Michael D.
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Gods Behaving Badly
For Colored Girls
Do No Harm
A Fall from Grace
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
We're Fighting Back
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
Diarra from Detroit
The Old Settler
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
Polly: Comin' Home!
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Heaven Down Here
Between the World and Me
Show of Titles
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A Different World
Frankie & Alice
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Free of Eden
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
The Earth Day Special
The Broad Coalition
Inside the Black Box
Mickey's 60th Birthday
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Dinosaur - Preshow
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
Charlie's Place
Coretta Scott
