Cast
Phylicia Rashād
Acting
Cast
Phylicia Rashād
Known for
Acting
Born
1948-06-19
From
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). 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.
★7.3
MOVIE2024
The Beekeeper
as Eloise Parker
★8.1
MOVIE2020
Soul
as Libba Gardner (voice)
★7.0
MOVIE2018
Creed II
as Mary Anne Creed
★7.1
MOVIE2023
Creed III
as Mary-Anne Creed
★7.4
MOVIE2015
Creed
as Mary Anne Creed
★7.6
MOVIE2021
tick, tick... BOOM!
as "Sunday" Legend #12
★6.7
MOVIE2017
Tour de Pharmacy
as Victoria Young
★7.0
MOVIE2020
A Fall from Grace
as Sarah
★7.5
MOVIE2025
Ruth & Boaz
as Naomi
★10.0
MOVIE1972
The Broad Coalition
★5.6
MOVIE2015
Emily & Tim
as Emily (Segment 5)
★6.1
MOVIE1990
The Earth Day Special
as Clair Huxtable
MOVIE2021
Show of Titles
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
★6.5
MOVIE2010
Just Wright
as Ella McKnight
★6.7
MOVIE2010
For Colored Girls
as Gilda
★8.2
MOVIE1989
Polly
as Aunt Polly
★5.8
MOVIE1996
The Babysitter's Seduction
as Kate Jacobs
MOVIETBA
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair
as Judge Elaine Carter
★6.3
MOVIE2012
Good Deeds
as Wilimena Deeds
★9.0
MOVIE1989
False Witness
as Lynne Jacobi
★2.5
MOVIE2013
Gods Behaving Badly
as Demeter
★6.5
MOVIE2020
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
as Grandmother Journey
★8.5
MOVIE1990
Polly: Comin' Home!
as Aunt Polly
★6.9
MOVIE2012
Steel Magnolias
as Clairee
★6.4
MOVIE2020
Black Box
as Lillian
MOVIE2016
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
★6.1
MOVIE2008
A Raisin in the Sun
as Lena Younger
★6.8
MOVIE1988
Mickey's 60th Birthday
as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
★7.7
MOVIE2023
Heaven Down Here
as Nancy
★6.6
MOVIE2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore
as Self (voice)
★5.9
MOVIE2010
Frankie & Alice
as Edna
★6.3
MOVIE2023
Our Son
as Maya
★9.7
MOVIE1999
Free of Eden
as Desiree
★7.0
MOVIE1981
We're Fighting Back
★8.3
MOVIE1994
David's Mother
as Gladys Johnson
★7.9
MOVIE2001
The Visit
as Dr. Coles
★6.0
MOVIE2002
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
as Self
★7.0
MOVIE1987
Uncle Tom's Cabin
as Eliza
MOVIE2003
God and the Inner City
as Self (voice)
MOVIE2021
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
as Anna Campbell
★10.0
MOVIE1998
Dinosaur - Preshow
as Dr Helen Marsh
MOVIETBA
Coretta Scott
as Self - Narrator (voice)
★7.9
MOVIE2020
Between the World and Me
as Self
MOVIE2008
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
as Self
★8.1
MOVIE2020
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
as Self - Actress
★1.5
MOVIE2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
as Self
★5.4
MOVIE1995
The Possession of Michael D.
as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
★6.5
MOVIE2001
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
as Cassandra Hawkins
MOVIE1989
The Debbie Allen Special
as Self
★3.8
MOVIE2001
The Old Settler
as Elizabeth Barney
★4.2
MOVIE1996
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
as Ma Ponk
★6.5
MOVIE1993
Hallelujah
as Mayor Turner
MOVIE2015
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
as Self
★6.7
MOVIE2011
Change of Plans
as Dorothy
★7.7
MOVIE1991
Jailbirds
as Janice Grant
★8.0
MOVIE2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
as Self
MOVIE2018
Charlie's Place
as Narrator (voice)
★7.8
MOVIE2002
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
as Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
MOVIE1992
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
as Self
MOVIE2017
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
as Self - Host
MOVIE2021
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
as Narrator (voice)