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Phylicia Rashād
Houston, Texas, USA
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 con…
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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.
Filmography
Movies and shows, newest first
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2025
Ruth & Boaz
Movie Naomi
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2024
Diarra from Detroit
TV show Vonda
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2024
The Beekeeper
Movie Eloise Parker
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2023
Heaven Down Here
Movie Nancy
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2023
Curses!
TV show Georgia (voice)
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2023
Our Son
Movie Maya
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2023
Being Mary Tyler Moore
Movie Self (voice)
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2023
Creed III
Movie Mary-Anne Creed
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2022
The Sherri Shepherd Show
TV show Self - Guest
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2022
The Gilded Age
TV show Elizabeth Kirkland
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2022
Inside the Black Box
TV show
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2021
tick, tick... BOOM!
Movie "Sunday" Legend #12
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2021
Show of Titles
Movie "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
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2021
Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
Movie Self
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2021
Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
Movie Anna Campbell
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2021
Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
Movie Narrator (voice)
More credits
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2020
Soul
Movie Libba Gardner (voice)
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2020
Between the World and Me
Movie Self
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2020
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
Movie Grandmother Journey
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2020
Black Box
Movie Lillian
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2020
Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
Movie Self - Actress
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2020
A Fall from Grace
Movie Sarah
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2020
Little America
TV show Margaret Jean the Queen
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2019
Tamron Hall
TV show Self - Guest
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2019
David Makes Man
TV show Dr. Woods-Trap
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2018
Creed II
Movie Mary Anne Creed
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2018
Charlie's Place
Movie Narrator (voice)
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2018
Station 19
TV show Pilar
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2017
Tour de Pharmacy
Movie Victoria Young
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2017
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
Movie Self - Host
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2017
The Good Fight
TV show Renetta Clark
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2016
This Is Us
TV show Carol Clarke
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2016
Jean-Claude Van Johnson
TV show Jane
- 2016
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2015
Creed
Movie Mary Anne Creed
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2015
Emily & Tim
Movie Emily (Segment 5)
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2015
August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
Movie Self
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2015
Empire
TV show Diana DuBois
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2014
Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
Movie Self
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2013
Gods Behaving Badly
Movie Demeter
