Phylicia Rashād

Acting

Born 1948-06-19 Houston, Texas, USA 96 credits Tony Awards 1 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series 2 honorary doctor of the Howard University 1 honorary doctorate from Brown University 1 honorary doctor of Carnegie-Mellon University 1

Awards

Won 1 Tony Award

Tony Awards 1 won · 1 nominated

2005 Best Actress in a Play Nominated
2004 Best Actress in a Play Won

NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series 2 won

1997 Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Won Cosby
1985 Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series Won The Cosby Show

honorary doctor of the Howard University 1 won

— honorary doctor of the Howard University Won

honorary doctorate from Brown University 1 won

— honorary doctorate from Brown University Won

honorary doctor of Carnegie-Mellon University 1 won

— honorary doctor of Carnegie-Mellon University Won

Award data from Wikidata (CC0). Coverage may be incomplete.

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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.