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Phylicia Rashad Headshot

Phylicia Rashad

Also Credited As: Phylicia Ayers-Allen

Birth Place: Houston, TX, USA

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BIO

Phylicia Rashad has brought laughter to millions of television viewers around the world, moved theatre-goers to tears, thrilled movie fans, offered new insights to students by teaching master classes at renowned learning institutions that include Howard University, Julliard, and Carnegie Mellon, served on boards of prestigious organizations, and broken new ground as a director. She is one of the entertainment world's most extraordinary performing artists. She became a household name when she portrayed “Claire Huxtable” on The Cosby Show, earning numerous honors and awards for over two decades. She teamed up with Bill Cosby in later years on television as “Ruth Lucas” on Cosby.



She portrayed the role of Dr. Vanessa Young in the NBC series, Do No Harm. She has also been a force on the stage, appearing both on and off-Broadway, often in projects that showcase her musical talent such as "Jelly's Last Jam, "Into The Woods, "Dreamgirls" and "The Wiz" as well as dramatic roles in August Osage County (“Violet Weston”), in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (“Big Mama” -- a role that she reprised on the London Stage), in August Wilson’s Gem Of The Ocean, (“Aunt Ester” --Tony Award nomination), and in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline (“Queen Britannia”) at Lincoln Center.

She received both the Drama Desk and the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, as “Lena Younger” in the Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin In The Sun. She appeared in Tyler Perry's Good Deeds, and starred in his highly acclaimed film version of Ntozake Shange’s For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Is Enuf. She received Critics’ rave reviews for her directorial debut at the Seattle Repertory Theatre with August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, and for The Ebony Repertory Theatre’s production of A Raisin in the Sun in the spring of 2011. She recently directed August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

She is the first recipient of the Denzel Washington Chair in Theatre at Fordham University, and has received Honorary Doctorates from Spelman College, Fordham University, Carnegie Mellon University, Howard University, Providence College, Morris Brown College, Clark Atlanta University, Barber Scotia College, St. Augustine College, and Brown University. She serves on the Advisory Board of the PRASAD Project and the Board of Directors of True Colors Theatre, the Broadway Inspirational Voices, The Actors Center, the Center for African American Studies at Princeton University, and the ADEPT Center, which is steering the restoration of the historic Brainerd Institute. A native of Houston, Texas, she graduated magna cum laude from Howard University.

Photos

STAGE CREDITS

Skeleton Crew Skeleton Crew
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 2022
Faye
A Midsummer Night's Dream A Midsummer Night's Dream
[Off-Broadway]
Shakespeare in the Park Revival, 2017
Titania
Sunday in the Park with George Sunday in the Park with George
[New York]
New York City Center Concert Gala, 2016
Old Lady
Head of Passes Head of Passes
[Off-Broadway]
Public Theater New York Premiere, 2016
Shelah
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
[Broadway]
Broadway Revival, 2008
Big Mama
Big Mama
Cymbeline Cymbeline
[Broadway]
Lincoln Center Revival, 2007
Queen
Bernarda Alba
[Off-Broadway]
Original Off-Broadway Production, 2006
Bernarda Alba
Bernarda Alba
A Wonderful Life
[Broadway]
Benefit Concert, 2005
Performer
Millie Bailey
Gem of the Ocean Gem of the Ocean
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 2004
Aunt Ester
A Raisin in the Sun A Raisin in the Sun
[Broadway]
Broadway Revival, 2004
Lena Younger
The Story
[Off-Broadway]
2003
Pat
Helen
[Off-Broadway]
2002
Athena
Blue
[Off-Broadway]
2001
Peggy Clark
Blue
[Regional (US)]
World Premiere, 2000
Peggy Clark
The Vagina Monologues
[Off-Broadway]
Original Off-Broadway Production, 1999
Performer [Replacement]
Performer [Replacement]
Everybody's Ruby
[Off-Broadway]
1999
Zora Neale Hurston
Jelly's Last Jam
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1992
Anita [Replacement]
Into the Woods
[Broadway]
Original Broadway Production, 1987
Witch [Replacement]

Productions

PurposePurpose
 
[Broadway, 2025]
Director
Our Lady of 121st StreetOur Lady of 121st Street
 
[Off-Broadway, 2018]
Director

Movies

Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
[ 1995 ] Ma Ponk
Loving Jezebel
[ 1999 ] Alice Melville
The Visit
[ 2000 ] Dr. Coles
Rwanda Rising
[ 2007 ] Historical Narration
Frankie & Alice
[ 2010 ] Edna
Just Wright
[ 2010 ] Ella McKnight
For Colored Girls
[ 2010 ] Gilda
Good Deeds
[ 2012 ] Wilimena
Gods Behaving Badly
[ 2013 ] Demeter
Creed
[ 2015 ] Mary Anne Creed
Creed II
[ 2018 ] Mary Anne Creed
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
[ 2020 ] Grandmother Journey
Soul
[ 2020 ] Libba
Black Box
[ 2020 ] Lillian
A Fall from Grace
[ 2020 ] Sarah
tick, tick... BOOM!
[ 2021 ] Sunday Legend #12
Creed III
[ 2023 ] Mary Anne Creed
The Beekeeper
[ 2024 ] Eloise Parker

TV Shows

A Different World
Clair Huxtable
Cosby
Ruth Lucas
David Makes Man
Dr. Woods-Trap
Empire
Diana DuBois
Little Bill
Brenda, Brenda Glover
Psych
Winnifred Guster
The Cleveland Show
Dee Dee Tubbs
The Cosby Show
Clair Huxtable
This Is Us
Carol Clarke
Touched by an Angel
Elizabeth Jessup
Stranded
Mary
Curses!
[ 2023-2024 ] Georgia
Diarra from Detroit
Vonda

Awards and Nominations

Drama Desk Awards - 2022 - Outstanding Actress in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew

Drama League Awards - 2022 - Distinguished Performance Awards

Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew

Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2022 - Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew


winner
Tony Awards - 2022 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, Skeleton Crew

Drama League Awards - 2016 - Distinguished Performance Award

Phylicia Rashad, Head of Passes


winner
The Lortels - 2016 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, Head of Passes

Helen Hayes Awards - 2011 - Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play

Phylicia Rashadevery tongue confess

Tony Awards - 2005 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, Gem of the Ocean


winner
BroadwayWorld Awards - 2004 - Best Leading Actress in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin In The Sun


winner
Drama Desk Awards - 2004 - Outstanding Actress - Play

Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun

Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2004 - Outstanding Actress in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun


winner
Tony Awards - 2004 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play

Phylicia Rashad, A Raisin in the Sun

The Lortels - 2002 - Outstanding Lead Actress

Phylicia Rashad, Blue

Helen Hayes Awards - 1997 - Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play

Phylicia RashadBlues for an Alabama Sky

Videos

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many Broadway shows has Phylicia Rashad been in?

Phylicia Rashad has appeared on Broadway in 8 shows.

How many West End shows has Phylicia Rashad been in?

Phylicia Rashad has not appeared in the West End.

What awards has Phylicia Rashad been nominated for?

Outstanding Actress in a Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Skeleton Crew, Distinguished Performance Awards (Drama League Awards) for Skeleton Crew, Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Skeleton Crew, Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Skeleton Crew, Distinguished Performance Award (Drama League Awards) for Head of Passes, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (The Lortels) for Head of Passes, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for every tongue confess, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Gem of the Ocean, Best Leading Actress in a Play (BroadwayWorld Awards) for A Raisin In The Sun, Outstanding Actress - Play (Drama Desk Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun, Outstanding Actress in a Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun, Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun, Outstanding Lead Actress (The Lortels) for Blue and Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Blues for an Alabama Sky.

What awards has Phylicia Rashad won?

Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for Skeleton Crew; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (The Lortels) for Head of Passes; Best Leading Actress in a Play (BroadwayWorld Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun; Outstanding Actress in a Play (Drama Desk Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun; and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play (Tony Awards) for A Raisin in the Sun.

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