7.4
Ruth & Boaz
2025
Phylicia Rashād
Acting
Born June 19, 1948Houston, Texas, USA
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.
Movies
See All
7.3
The Beekeeper
2024
7.7
Heaven Down Here
2023
6.2
Our Son
2023
6.7
Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023
7.1
Creed III
2023
7.6
tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
0.0
Show of Titles
2021
8.0
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
0.0
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
2021
0.0
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
2021
8.1
Soul
2020
7.9
Between the World and Me
2020
6.5
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
6.4
Black Box
2020
8.1
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
7.0
A Fall from Grace
2020
7.0
Creed II
2018
Charlie's Place
0.0
Charlie's Place
2018
6.7
Tour de Pharmacy
2017
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
0.0
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
2017
0.0
VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail the Queens
2016
7.4
Creed
2015
5.6
Emily & Tim
2015
0.0
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
1.5
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
2.5
Gods Behaving Badly
2013
6.9
Steel Magnolias
2012
6.3
Good Deeds
2012
6.7
Change of Plans
2011
6.0
Frankie & Alice
2010
6.7
For Colored Girls
2010
6.6
Just Wright
2010
0.0
Dreams Worth While: The Journey of "A Raisin in the Sun"
2008
6.1
A Raisin in the Sun
2008
0.0
God and the Inner City
2003
7.8
The Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
6.0
NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
6.5
Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2001
3.8
The Old Settler
2001
7.9
The Visit
2001
9.7
Free of Eden
1999
10.0
Dinosaur - Preshow
1998
4.2
Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
5.8
The Babysitter's Seduction
1996
5.4
The Possession of Michael D.
1995
8.3
David's Mother
1994
Hallelujah
6.5
Hallelujah
1993
0.0
Bob Hope's Four-Star Christmas Fiesta from San Antonio
1992
7.7
Jailbirds
1991
8.5
Polly: Comin' Home!
1990
6.1
The Earth Day Special
1990
8.2
Polly
1989
9.0
False Witness
1989
The Debbie Allen Special
0.0
The Debbie Allen Special
1989
6.8
Mickey's 60th Birthday
1988
7.0
Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987
10.0
Superstars and their Moms
1987
Nell Carter... Never Too Old to Dream
0.0
Nell Carter... Never Too Old to Dream
1986
7.0
We're Fighting Back
1981
10.0
The Broad Coalition
1972
Coretta Scott
0.0
Coretta Scott
Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Affair
0.0
Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Affair
Alone
0.0
Alone
TV Shows
See All
4.8
Diarra from Detroit
6.2
Curses!
2.6
Sherri
7.7
The Gilded Age
5.0
Inside the Black Box
6.6
Little America
4.7
The Tamron Hall Show
6.6
David Makes Man
8.2
Station 19
7.5
The Good Fight
8.2
This Is Us
6.7
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
7.1
Empire
6.2
Do No Harm
7.2
Sofia the First
7.9
Psych
8.1
Everybody Hates Chris
8.2
Grey's Anatomy
6.8
Bull
6.8
Little Bill
6.1
Cosby
4.1
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
7.8
In the House
6.3
Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child
7.2
Touched by an Angel
4.5
Intimate Portrait
6.2
Blossom
7.8
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
7.2
A Different World
7.0
The Cosby Show
8.4
Reading Rainbow
6.6
American Playhouse
0.0
Tony Awards
7.9
The Emmy Awards
8.0