Phylicia Rashād
Birthday: Born in 1948-06-19 in Houston, Texas, USA
Deathday: Alive
Phylicia Rashad (née Ayers-Allen) 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.
TV Credits
In the House
Character:
A once-famous football player must rent part of his house to support himself. A single mother and her two kids are the latest tenants. He also owns a sports clinic that he barely manages to run with help from his friends...
A Different World
Character: Clair Huxtable
A Different World is a spin-off series from The Cosby Show and originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional mixed but historically black college in the state of Virginia. After Bonet's departure in the first season, the remainder of the series primarily focused more on Southern belle Whitley Gilbert and mathematics whiz Dwayne Wayne. The series frequently depicted members of the major historically black fraternities and sororities....
Everybody Hates Chris
Character:
Chris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home and surmounting the challenges of junior high....
Psych
Character: Winnifred Guster
Thanks to his police officer father's efforts, Shawn Spencer spent his childhood developing a keen eye for detail (and a lasting dislike of his dad). Years later, Shawn's frequent tips to the police lead to him being falsely accused of a crime he solved. Now, Shawn has no choice but to use his abilities to perpetuate his cover story: psychic crime-solving powers, all the while dragging his best friend, his dad, and the police along for the ride....
Touched by an Angel
Character: Elizabeth Jessup
Monica, an angel, is tasked with bringing guidance and messages from God to various people who are at a crossroads in their lives....
The Cosby Show
Character: Clair Huxtable
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on the Huxtable family, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York....
Tamron Hall
Character: Self - Guest
Former news host and journalist Tamron Hall discusses all things topical and engages those she interviews in thorough meaningful and entertaining conversations....
Blossom
Character:
Blossom Russo is a highly intelligent and spunky teenager. The youngest of three, she lives with her divorced musician father, Nick, eldest brother and recovering substance abuser Anthony, and decidedly not-so-bright middle brother Joey. Along for the ride is Blossom's ditzy best friend, Six, who sometimes shows flashes of great perception....
Grey's Anatomy
Character: Nell Timms
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle’s Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital....
Little Bill
Character: Brenda Glover (voice)
Little Bill is a television show for children that is presently on Nick Jr. The stories are based on Bill Cosby's Little Bill book series, set in Philadelphia and feature Bill Jr. learning a lesson or moral. It was developed through research and in consultation with a panel of educational consultants. The show also aired on CBS as part of Nick Jr. on CBS, from September 16, 2000 - September 7, 2002, then as part of Nick on CBS from August 2, 2003 - September 10, 2005. The show returned with the...
Cosby
Character: Ruth Lucas
Cosby is an American situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program stars Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashād, who previously worked with Cosby in the 1984–1992 NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999....
Bull
Character:
Bull is a short-lived American drama series created by Michael S. Chernuchin, who had worked on Law & Order and Brooklyn South in 2000. It was TNT's first original series, and was cancelled in the middle of Season 1. The show's name is in reference to the bull market, but the airing of the series coincided with the dot-com bubble crash that turned what had until then been a bull economy in the United States into a bear market....
Do No Harm
Character: Dr. Vanessa Young
Jason Cole, a brilliant neurosurgeon has to battle with his own alter-ego, Ian Price, in order to live a normal life in this modern take on Jekyll and Hyde....
Intimate Portrait
Character: Self
Intimate Portrait is a biographical television series on the Lifetime Television cable network focusing on different celebrities, which includes interviews with each subject. Among the people profiled were Grace Kelly, Natalie Wood, Carly Simon, Jackie Kennedy, Katharine Hepburn, Carol Burnett, Tanya Tucker, and Marla Maples....
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
Character: Jane
Jean-Claude Van Damme is a global martial arts & film sensation, also operating under the simple alias of "Johnson" as the world's best undercover private contractor. Retired for years, a chance encounter with a lost love brings him back to the game. This time, he'll be deadlier than ever. Probably....
Inside the Black Box
Character:
A new spin on celebrity interview shows, INSIDE THE BLACK BOX spotlights the world’s greatest artists of color, from actors to producers to directors, writers and musicians, and reflects on how one’s complexion affected their journey to success. Led by Emmy Award-winning actor Joe Morton and casting director/celebrity acting coach Tracey Moore and filled with an audience of young artists clamoring to learn as much as they can from our hosts and A-List guests. Each episode is filled with life les...
Reading Rainbow
Character: Narrator (voice)
Journey to exciting places and build a lasting connection with your favorite books. Each episode centers on a theme from a book, or other children's literature, which is explored through a number of segments or stories....
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
Character: Lady Fulton (voice)
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child is an American anthology animated television series....
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Character: Self - Guest
The Rosie O'Donnell Show was an American daytime television talk show hosted and produced by actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. It aired for six seasons from 1996 to 2002. Topics often discussed on the show include Broadway, children, extended families and charitable works, people and organizations. The show was based out of Studio 8G at NBC's Rockefeller Center studios in New York City, NY, USA and was produced and syndicated by KidRo Productions, Telepictures Productions and Warner Bros. Te...
The Good Fight
Character: Renetta Clark
Picking up one year after the events of the final broadcast episode of "The Good Wife", an enormous financial scam has destroyed the reputation of a young lawyer, Maia Rindell, while simultaneously wiping out her mentor and godmother Diane Lockhart's savings. Forced out of her law firm, now called "Lockhart, Deckler, Gussman, Lee, Lyman, Gilbert, Lurie, Kagan, Tannebaum & Associates", they join Lucca Quinn at one of Chicago's preeminent law firms....
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Character: Jane Goodfellow (voice)
Four turtles fall into the sewers and are befriended by Hamato Yoshi a Japanese man sent to New York who was forced to live in the sewers. One day he sees a strange green glow which transforms the four turtles into human-like creatures. Hamato (now Master Splinter) changes into a giant rat from the green glow and teaches the turtles the skills of the ninja as they team up with news reporter April O'Neil to battle against Yoshi's arch enemy Shredder and Krang, an alien warlord from Dimension X....
Diarra from Detroit
Character: Vonda
A divorcing, overworked teacher finds herself drawn into a cold case after a dating app matches her with a man she suspects is the adult version of a boy abducted in the 90s....
Sofia the First
Character: Mountain Witch (voice)
Set in the storybook world of Enchancia, this is the story of Princess Sofia, an adventurous little girl who is learning how to adjust to royal life after her mom marries the king and she becomes a princess overnight....
This Is Us
Character: Carol Clarke
Follows the lives and families of three adults living and growing up in the United States of America in present and past times. As their paths cross and their life stories intertwine in curious ways, we find that several of them share the same birthday - and so much more than anyone would expect....
Little America
Character: Margaret Jean the Queen
An anthology series that goes beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring and surprising stories of immigrants in America at a time when they are more relevant than ever....
David Makes Man
Character: Dr. Woods-Trap
A 14-year-old prodigy's mother relies on him to find a way out of poverty, but he is haunted by the death of his friend; he must choose between the streets that raised him or the higher education that may offer him a way out....
Tony Awards
Character: Self - Presenter
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances, and an award is given for regional theatre....
Station 19
Character: Pilar
A group of heroic firefighters at Seattle Fire Station 19—from captain to newest recruit—risk their lives and hearts both in the line of duty and off the clock. These brave men and women are like family, literally and figuratively, and together they put their own lives in jeopardy as first responders to save the lives of others....
Curses!
Character: Georgia (voice)
The Vanderhouvens are a typical family...except a curse recently turned Alex—their loving husband and father—to stone. In order to save him, his wife and kids set out on spine-tingling adventures to return ancient artifacts stolen by an ancestor....
Sherri
Character: Self - Guest
Sherri Shepherd, actress, comic, and Emmy Award-winning longtime co-host of "The View", appears before a live audience with a daily dose of pop culture, comedy, conversations, and daytime talk staples, including celebrity and human interest interviews....
The Gilded Age
Character: Elizabeth Kirkland
It’s 1882 and the Gilded Age is in full swing when Marian Brook, a young orphaned daughter of a Southern general, moves in with her rigidly conventional aunts in New York City. With the help of Peggy Scott, an African-American woman masquerading as her maid, Marian gets caught up in the dazzling lives of her rich neighbors as she struggles to decide between adhering to the rules or forging her own path....
The Emmy Awards
Character: Self
An annual awards ceremony honoring the best in U.S. prime time television programming as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences....
Movie Credits
A Raisin in the Sun
Character: Lena Younger
Dreams can make a life worth living, but they can also be dashed by bad decisions. This is the crossroads whare the Younger family find themselves when their father passes away and leaves them with $10,000 in life insurance money. Should they buy a new home for the family? Perhaps a liquor store? While no choice is easy, life on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s is even harder....
Our Son
Character: Maya
When his husband Gabriel files for divorce, Nicky fights for custody of their 8-year-old son Owen, as he struggles to come to terms with what it means to love someone and what it means to be a father....
tick, tick... BOOM!
Character: "Sunday" Legend #12
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out....
Just Wright
Character: Ella McKnight
Physical therapist Leslie Wright lands the dream job of working with basketball superstar Scott McKnight, helping him recover from a career-threatening injury. All goes well and soon Leslie finds herself falling in love with him. Just as their friendship deepens, however, Scott focuses his attention back on his tenuous relationship with his ex-fiancé Morgan, Leslie's gorgeous godsister, who would love to be the basketball player's trophy wife....
Good Deeds
Character: Wilimena Deeds
For all his life, wealthy businessman Wesley Deeds has done what's expected of him and has settled into a predictable routine. His scripted life begins to change, however, when he meets Lindsey Wakefield, a struggling single mother who works as a night janitor for his corporation and has just been evicted. He offers to help Lindsey get back on her feet and, though he's already engaged, romantic sparks begin to fly. Suddenly, he finds himself torn between what is expected of him and what he reall...
For Colored Girls
Character: Gilda
About existence from the perspective of 20 nameless black females. Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of twenty poems, revealing different issues that impact women in general and women of color in particular....
The Babysitter's Seduction
Character: Kate Jacobs
The mother of the family for which Michelle baby-sits dies unexpectedly. Michelle is asked to take over looking after the children and is gradually "seduced" by the father....
The Broad Coalition
Character:
A man becomes pregnant in a zany comedy....
Frankie & Alice
Character: Edna
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist to uncover the mystery of the inner ghosts that haunt her....
Polly
Character: Aunt Polly
An musical adaptation of the book "Pollyanna" set in the 1950's in which an orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town....
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Character: Self (voice)
With unprecedented access to the Mary Tyler Moore Estate, friends, family, and colleagues, Being Mary Tyler Moore constructs an intimate mosaic of Mary's sixty-year career in show business....
Change of Plans
Character: Dorothy
Sally and Jason Danville's life are turned upside down when a tragic accident suddenly names them the caretakers of four young children....
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
Character: Ma Ponk
A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation....
Steel Magnolias
Character: Clairee
In an updated contemporary version of the beloved stage play and 1989 film, "Steel Magnolias" chronicles the lives and friendship of six women in Louisiana. Supporting each other through their triumphs and tragedies, they congregate at Truvy’s beauty shop to ponder the mysteries of life and death, husbands and children - and hair and nails - all the important topics that truly unite and celebrate women....
Free of Eden
Character: Desiree
Story about Will Cleamons, a former teacher-turned-businessman who agrees to tutor 18-year-old high school dropout, Nicole Turner. Much to his surprise, their relationship not only helps Nicole build a future, but helps Cleamons put his personal life back together....
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
Character: Cassandra Hawkins
Jessica Fletcher discovers a shocking old family secret that leads her on a journey to the deep South to bring to light the mysterious details surrounding the death of a slave owned by one of her long dead ancestors in the mid-1800s....
Heaven Down Here
Character: Nancy
Inspired by Mickey Guyton’s song of the same name, “Heaven Down Here” tells the story of four disparate people who find themselves stranded in a local diner on Christmas Eve when a snowstorm hits the town....
The Beekeeper
Character: Eloise Parker
One man's campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers....
David's Mother
Character: Gladys Johnson
Sally Goodson has been raising her autistic son David alone since her husband left many years ago. Now a social worker discovers that Sally has been dodging 'The System' to keep her son with her, instead of putting him in an institution. Each feels they know what's best for David. But their opinions are not the same. Sally's developing relationship with John Nils is caught in the middle....
Polly: Comin' Home!
Character: Aunt Polly
Broadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial understanding in 1956 Alabama....
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Character: Narrator (voice)
"Twenty Pearls" tells a powerful story of sisterhood. In 1908, nine Black women enrolled at Howard University made one decision that would change the course of history. These college students created Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated....
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
Character: Self
A celebration of NBC's 75 year history, featuring clips of special moments....
Jailbirds
Character: Janice Grant
Personalities clash when a city executive and a small town seamstress are thrown into jail for crimes they didn't commit and then escape, handcuffed together....
We're Fighting Back
Character:
Inspired by the exploits of New York's Guardian Angels, which began as a band of streetwise young people who formed an anti-crime subway patrol and went on to gain a national reputation and units in major cities around the country, this film unites three New York City youths as leaders of a citizens' patrol tackling gangs terrorizing merchants and local citizens....
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Character: Eliza
The life of an aging black slave, Tom, and the people he interacts with....
Emily & Tim
Character: Emily (Segment 5)
The movie is comprised of six vignettes. A look at the tumultuous marriage of Tim and Emily Hanratty over half a century....
Creed
Character: Mary Anne Creed
The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apollo Creed....
The Possession of Michael D.
Character: Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
When a dark force begins to destroy a couple's happiness, they decide to turn to a parapsychologist who discovers that the husband is possessed by a demon....
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Character: Self
Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronicling a century of African-American life. Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama....
Mickey's 60th Birthday
Character: Disneyland Cleaning Lady
This film combines live action/original animation and library animation. Mickey steals a magic hat from a Sorcerer and is put under a spell by the angry magi so that no one will recognize him until he finds his own magic within. While Mickey is on his quest, network news teams around the country desperately try to find the famous, beloved mouse who has mysteriously disappeared. On his quest, Mickey pays a visit to the patrons of "Cheers", meets up with the Keatons from "Family Ties", and winds u...
Tour de Pharmacy
Character: Victoria Young
A mockumentary that chronicles the prevalence of doping in the world of professional cycling....
False Witness
Character: Lynne Jacobi
An assistant district attorney's (Phylicia Rashad) co-worker lover (Philip Michael Thomas) plans to prove her wrong about a case....
Creed II
Character: Mary Anne Creed
Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight against an opponent with ties to his family's past, Adonis Creed is up against the challenge of his life....
Soul
Character: Libba Gardner (voice)
Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an accident that separates his soul from his body and is transported to the You Seminar, a center in which souls develop and gain passions before being transported to a newborn child. Joe must enlist help from the other souls-in-training, like 22, a soul who has spent eons in the You Seminar, in order to get back to Earth....
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Character: Grandmother Journey
An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power to change their lives forever....
A Fall from Grace
Character: Sarah
When a law-abiding woman gets indicted for murdering her husband, her lawyer soon realizes that a larger conspiracy may be at work....
Creed III
Character: Mary-Anne Creed
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has thrived in his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian Anderson, resurfaces after serving a long sentence in prison, he is eager to prove that he deserves his shot in the ring. The face-off between former friends is more than just a fight. To settle the score, Adonis must put his future on the line to battle Damian — a fighter with nothing to lose....
Black Box
Character: Lillian
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is....
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Character: Self
In this open-letter style documentary, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis' rich lives guide their grandson on his personal quest to master lasting love, conscious art, and undying activism....
Between the World and Me
Character: Self
Based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ #1 New York Times bestseller and originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater, this special combines elements of that production - including powerful readings from Coates’ book - with documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation....
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Character: Self - Actress
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy....
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Character: Self
An intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s incomparable artistry, and the acting process which informed his transformative performances. Viola Davis, Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, George C. Wolfe, Branford Marsalis, Phylicia Rashad and more take us behind the scenes to explore Boseman's extraordinary commitment to his craft....
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Character: Anna Campbell
Anna Campbell, now 65, sparked controversy when she bared it all on stage years ago. When a theatre festival asks to re-stage the work with a younger actress in her role, dramatic and comic fireworks ensue....
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
Character: Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
A retrospective of the phenomenally popular 1984-1992 situation comedy, "The Cosby Show," complete with memorable clips, bloopers and comments from series stars, producers and Bill Cosby himself....
The Earth Day Special
Character: Clair Huxtable
The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two hour special featured an all-star cast addressing concerns about global warming, deforestation, and other environmental ills....
Ruth & Boaz
Character: Naomi
A talented singer leaves the Atlanta music scene and starts over in small-town Tennessee, where she finds love and new purpose but can't escape the past....
Show of Titles
Character: "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
An evening of celebrated stars performing the titles songs from Broadway’s best....
Gods Behaving Badly
Character: Demeter
Greek gods living in modern-day New York intervene in the lives of a young couple....
A Different World
Character: Clair Huxtable
A Different World is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of The Cosby Show. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, to July 9, 1993.The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. It was inspired by student life at historically black colleges and universities...