Phylicia Rashād
Acting
95 titles
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.
Filmography
Ruth & Boaz
2025
Diarra from Detroit
2024
The Beekeeper
2024
Heaven Down Here
2023
Curses!
2023
Our Son
2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023
Creed III
2023
Sherri
2022
The Gilded Age
2022
Inside the Black Box
2022
tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
Show of Titles
2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
2021
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
2021
Soul
2020
Between the World and Me
2020
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
Black Box
2020
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
A Fall from Grace
2020
Little America
2020
Tamron Hall
2019
David Makes Man
2019
Creed II
2018
Charlie's Place
2018
Station 19
2018
Tour de Pharmacy
2017
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
2017
The Good Fight
2017
This Is Us
2016
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
2016
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
Creed
2015
Emily & Tim
2015
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
Empire
2015
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
Gods Behaving Badly
2013
Do No Harm
2013
Sofia the First
2013
Steel Magnolias
2012
Good Deeds
2012
Change of Plans
2011
Frankie & Alice
2010
For Colored Girls
2010
Just Wright
2010
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
2008
A Raisin in the Sun
2008
Psych
2006
Everybody Hates Chris
2005
Grey's Anatomy
2005
God and the Inner City
2003
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2001
The Old Settler
2001
The Visit
2001
Bull
2000
Little Bill
1999
Free of Eden
1999
Dinosaur - Preshow
1998
Cosby
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
The Babysitter's Seduction
1996
The Possession of Michael D.
1995
In the House
1995
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
1995
Touched by an Angel
1994
David's Mother
1994
Hallelujah
1993
Intimate Portrait
1993
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
1992
Jailbirds
1991
Polly: Comin' Home!
1990
Blossom
1990
The Earth Day Special
1990
Polly
1989
False Witness
1989
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
Mickey's 60th Birthday
1988
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1987
A Different World
1987
Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987
The Cosby Show
1984
Reading Rainbow
1983
We're Fighting Back
1981
The Broad Coalition
1972
Tony Awards
1956
The Emmy Awards
1949
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
1948
Coretta Scott
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Family Affair