Phylicia Rashād
49 movies · 28 TV shows
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jun 19, 1948 (age 78)
- Place of birth
- Houston, Texas, USA
- Also known as
- Phylicia Ayers-Allen · Phylicia Rashad
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).
Read the full biography
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
Phylicia Rashād: movies and TV shows
Acting (77)
- Upcoming Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Affair
as Judge Elaine Carter
- Upcoming
- 2025 Ruth & Boaz
as Naomi
- 2024
- 2024 The Beekeeper
as Eloise Parker
- 2023 Heaven Down Here
as Nancy
- 2023
- 2023 Our Son
as Maya
- 2023 Creed III
as Mary-Anne Creed
- 2022
- 2021 tick, tick... BOOM!
as "Sunday" Legend #12
- 2021 Show of Titles
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
- 2021 Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
as Anna Campbell
- 2021 Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
as Narrator (voice)
- 2020 Soul
as Libba Gardner (voice)
- 2020 Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
as Grandmother Journey
- 2020 Black Box
as Lillian
- 2020 A Fall from Grace
as Sarah
- 2020
- 2019
- 2018 Creed II
as Mary Anne Creed
- 2018 Charlie's Place
as Narrator (voice)
- 2018
- 2017 Tour de Pharmacy
as Victoria Young
- 2017
- 2016
- 2016
- 2016
- 2015 Creed
as Mary Anne Creed
- 2015 Emily & Tim
as Emily (Segment 5)
- 2015
- 2013 Gods Behaving Badly
as Demeter
- 2013
- 2013
- 2012 Steel Magnolias
as Clairee
- 2012 Good Deeds
as Wilimena Deeds
- 2011 Change of Plans
as Dorothy
- 2010 Frankie & Alice
as Edna
- 2010 For Colored Girls
as Gilda
- 2010 Just Wright
as Ella McKnight
- 2008 A Raisin in the Sun
as Lena Younger
- 2006
- 2005
- 2005
- 2001 Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
as Cassandra Hawkins
- 2001 The Old Settler
as Elizabeth Barney
- 2001 The Visit
as Dr. Coles
- 2000
- 1999
- 1999 Free of Eden
as Desiree
- 1998 Dinosaur - Preshow
as Dr Helen Marsh
- 1996
- 1996 Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
as Ma Ponk
- 1996 The Babysitter's Seduction
as Kate Jacobs
- 1995 The Possession of Michael D.
as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
- 1995
- 1995
- 1994
- 1994 David's Mother
as Gladys Johnson
- 1993 Hallelujah
as Mayor Turner
- 1991 Jailbirds
as Janice Grant
- 1990 Polly: Comin' Home!
as Aunt Polly
- 1990
- 1990 The Earth Day Special
as Clair Huxtable
- 1989 Polly
as Aunt Polly
- 1989 False Witness
as Lynne Jacobi
- 1988 Mickey's 60th Birthday
as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
- 1987
- 1987
- 1987 Uncle Tom's Cabin
as Eliza
- 1986
- 1984
- 1983
- 1982
- 1981
- 1972
- 1948
Behind the camera (1)
- 2005
Talk shows and appearances (22)
- Upcoming
- 2023
- 2022 Sherri
1 episode
- 2022 Inside the Black Box
20 episodes
- 2021
- 2020
- 2020
- 2019 The Tamron Hall Show
1 episode
- 2017
- 2015
- 2014
- 2008
- 2003
- 2002
- 2002
- 1996 The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1 episode
- 1993 Intimate Portrait
1 episode
- 1992
- 1989
- 1987
- 1956 Tony Awards
1 episode
- 1949 The Emmy Awards
1 episode