Phylicia Rashad
Encyclopedia
Phylicia Rashād is an American
Tony Award
winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC
sitcom The Cosby Show
.
In 2004, Rashād became the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
, for her role in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun
.
She resumed the role in the 2008 television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, which earned her the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
.
Rashād was dubbed "the mother" of the African American
community at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards.
In 2011, she was named the first Denzel Washington
Chair professor in Theatre at Fordham University
, supported by a $2 million gift from the actor.
, Louisiana. Her mother, Vivian Ayers (for whom the mother in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was named), was a Pulitzer-prize nominated artist, poet, playwright, scholar, and publisher. Her father, Andrew Arthur Allen (d. 1984), was an orthodontist and dentist. Rashād's siblings are jazz-musician brother Tex (Andrew Arthur Allen, Jr., born 1945), sister Debbie Allen
(1950), an actress, choreographer, and director
, and brother Hugh Allen (a real estate banker in North Carolina). While Rashād was growing up, her family moved to Mexico, and as a result, Rashād speaks Spanish
fluently.
She graduated from Howard University
, where she later taught and was a member of Campus Pals and Alpha Kappa Alpha
sorority. Rashād first became notable on the stage with a string of Broadway
credits, including Deena Jones in Dreamgirls (she was Sheryl Lee Ralph
's understudy until she left the show in 1982 after Rashād was passed over as Ralph's full-time replacement) and playing a Munchkin
in The Wiz
. In 1978, she released the album Josephine Superstar, a disco
Concept album
telling the life story of Josephine Baker
. The album was mainly written and produced by Jacques Morali
and Rashād's second husband Victor Willis
, original lead singer and lyricist of the Village People
. She met Willis while they were both cast in The Wiz
. Rashād received another career boost when she joined the cast of the ABC
soap opera
One Life to Live
in 1983.
, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
, Gem of the Ocean
, Raisin in the Sun (2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play/Drama Desk Award), Blue, Jelly's Last Jam
, Into the Woods
, Dreamgirls, The Wiz
and Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death
. Off-Broadway
credits include Lincoln Center’s productions of Cymbeline
and Bernarda Alba (musical)
; Helen
, The Story and Everybody's Ruby at the Public Theater
; The Negro Ensemble Company productions of Puppet Play, Zooman and the Sign, Sons and Fathers of Sons, In an Upstate Motel, Weep Not For Me, and The Great Mac Daddy; Lincoln Center's production of Ed Bullins' The Duplex
; and The Sirens at the Manhattan Theatre Club
. In regional theatre, she performed as Euripedes' Medea
and in Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Other regional theatres at which she has performed are the Arena Stage
in Washington, D.C.
and the Huntington Theatre in Boston
.
In 2007, Rashād made her directorial debut with the Seattle Repertory Theatre
’s production of August Wilson
’s Gem of the Ocean
.
Clair Huxtable on the NBC
sitcom The Cosby Show
. The show starred Bill Cosby
as obstetrician Cliff Huxtable, and focused on their life with their five children.
When Cosby returned to TV comedy in 1996 with CBS's Cosby
, he called on Rashād to play Ruth Lucas, his character's wife. The pilot episode had been shot with Telma Hopkins
, but Cosby then fired the executive producer and replaced Hopkins with Rashād. The sitcom ran from 1996 to 2000. That year, Cosby asked Rashād to work on his animated television series Little Bill
, in which the actress voiced Bill's mother, Brenda, until the show's end in 2002. She also played a role in the pre-show of the "Dinosaur" ride at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park.
In 2003, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Harvard Black Men's Forum. In 2005, Rashād received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) degree from Brown University
.
She played Kill Moves' affluent mother on Everybody Hates Chris
on Sunday, December 9, 2007. In 2007 she appeared as Winnie Guster in the Psych
episode Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy. She returned to the role in 2008, in the episode Christmas Joy.
In February 2008, she appeared in the television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun. She starred on Broadway
as Big Mama in an all-African American
production of Tennessee Williams
's Pulitzer Prize
-winning drama
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
directed by her sister Debbie Allen
. She appeared alongside stage veterans James Earl Jones
(Big Daddy) and Anika Noni Rose
(Maggie), as well as film actor Terrence Howard
, who makes his Broadway
debut as Brick. She will appear as Violet Weston, the drug-addicted matriarch of Tracy Lett's award-winning play, August: Osage County
at the Music Box Theatre
.
In November 2010, Rashād starred in the Tyler Perry
film For Colored Girls, based on the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf
by Ntozake Shange
.
William Lancelot Bowles, Jr. They had one son, William Lancelot Bowles III, who was born the following year. The marriage ended in 1975. Rashād then married Victor Willis
(original lead singer of the Village People
) in 1978. Their divorce was finalized in 1982.
She married former NFL wide receiver
and sportscaster Ahmad Rashād
on December 14, 1985. It was a third marriage for both of them and she took his last name. They were married after he proposed to her during a pregame show for a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day
football
game between the New York Jets
and the Detroit Lions
on November 28, 1985. Their daughter, Condola Phyleia Rashād, was born on December 11, 1986 in New York City
. Along with her son, William, Rashād also has three stepchildren (Ahmad's from a previous marriage): daughters Keva (born in 1970) and Maiysha (born in 1974), and son Ahmad Jr. (born in 1978). The couple divorced in early 2001 but she kept the name Rashād.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
winning actress and singer, best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the long-running NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
.
In 2004, Rashād became the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
, for her role in the revival of A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun
A Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes...
.
She resumed the role in the 2008 television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun, which earned her the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special:*Most Wins: Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard- 2 wins*Most Nominations:-Stats:...
.
Rashād was dubbed "the mother" of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community at the 42nd NAACP Image Awards.
In 2011, she was named the first Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
Chair professor in Theatre at Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
, supported by a $2 million gift from the actor.
Early life
Rashād was born in Lake ArthurLake Arthur
Lake Arthur may refer to:United States* Lake Arthur, Louisiana, a town in Jefferson Davis Parish* Lake Arthur, New Mexico, a town in Chaves County* Lake Arthur, Pennsylvania, a lake in Butler County...
, Louisiana. Her mother, Vivian Ayers (for whom the mother in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air was named), was a Pulitzer-prize nominated artist, poet, playwright, scholar, and publisher. Her father, Andrew Arthur Allen (d. 1984), was an orthodontist and dentist. Rashād's siblings are jazz-musician brother Tex (Andrew Arthur Allen, Jr., born 1945), sister Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
(1950), an actress, choreographer, and director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
, and brother Hugh Allen (a real estate banker in North Carolina). While Rashād was growing up, her family moved to Mexico, and as a result, Rashād speaks Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
fluently.
She graduated from Howard University
Howard University
Howard University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
, where she later taught and was a member of Campus Pals and Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha
Alpha Kappa Alpha is the first Greek-lettered sorority established and incorporated by African American college women. The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of nine students, led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle...
sorority. Rashād first became notable on the stage with a string of Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits, including Deena Jones in Dreamgirls (she was Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph
Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist.-Personal life:Raised between Mandeville, Jamaica, and Long Island, New York, Sheryl Lee Ralph was born in Waterbury, Connecticut to an African American father and a Jamaican mother. Sheryl attended Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY...
's understudy until she left the show in 1982 after Rashād was passed over as Ralph's full-time replacement) and playing a Munchkin
Munchkin
The Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. They first appeared in the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in which they are described as being somewhat short of stature, and wear only blue...
in The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
. In 1978, she released the album Josephine Superstar, a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
Concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
telling the life story of Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker
Josephine Baker was an American dancer, singer, and actress who found fame in her adopted homeland of France. She was given such nicknames as the "Bronze Venus", the "Black Pearl", and the "Créole Goddess"....
. The album was mainly written and produced by Jacques Morali
Jacques Morali
Jacques Morali was a French music producer, who is best remembered for being the creator and driving force behind the disco group, Village People....
and Rashād's second husband Victor Willis
Victor Willis
Victor Edward Willis is a singer, songwriter, actor; and most known as the original lead singer of the disco group Village People. His persona was the Cop and Naval Officer....
, original lead singer and lyricist of the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
. She met Willis while they were both cast in The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
. Rashād received another career boost when she joined the cast of the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
in 1983.
Theatrical credits
Broadway credits include August: Osage CountyAugust: Osage County
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...
, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
, Gem of the Ocean
Gem of the Ocean
Gem of the Ocean is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the twentieth century.-Plot :...
, Raisin in the Sun (2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play/Drama Desk Award), Blue, Jelly's Last Jam
Jelly's Last Jam
Jelly's Last Jam is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson...
, Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
, Dreamgirls, The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
and Ain't Supposed To Die A Natural Death
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death
Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Van Peebles. The musical contains some material also on three of Van Peebles' albums, Br'er Soul, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death and As Serious as a Heart-Attack, some of which were yet to come...
. Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
credits include Lincoln Center’s productions of Cymbeline
Cymbeline
Cymbeline , also known as Cymbeline, King of Britain or The Tragedy of Cymbeline, is a play by William Shakespeare, based on legends concerning the early Celtic British King Cunobelinus. Although listed as a tragedy in the First Folio, modern critics often classify Cymbeline as a romance...
and Bernarda Alba (musical)
Bernarda Alba (musical)
Bernarda Alba is a one-act musical with music, lyrics and book by Michael John LaChiusa, based on Federico García Lorca's 1936 play The House of Bernarda Alba. Bernarda Alba tells the story of a controlling, newly-widowed mother who is challenged by her five rebellious daughters. The musical...
; Helen
Helen (play)
Helen is a drama by Euripides, probably first produced in 412 BC for the Dionysia. The play shares much in common with another of Euripides' works, Iphigenia in Tauris.-Background:...
, The Story and Everybody's Ruby at the Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
; The Negro Ensemble Company productions of Puppet Play, Zooman and the Sign, Sons and Fathers of Sons, In an Upstate Motel, Weep Not For Me, and The Great Mac Daddy; Lincoln Center's production of Ed Bullins' The Duplex
The Duplex
The Duplex is a comic strip by Glenn McCoy, published by Universal Press from 1993. The Duplex has been published in numerous newspapers as daily comic strips and on the Internet. A collection of strips is also available in the form of a comic album...
; and The Sirens at the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
. In regional theatre, she performed as Euripedes' Medea
Medea
Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children, Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of...
and in Blues for an Alabama Sky at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Other regional theatres at which she has performed are the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and the Huntington Theatre in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
In 2007, Rashād made her directorial debut with the Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and Theatre Communications Group. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore...
’s production of August Wilson
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
’s Gem of the Ocean
Gem of the Ocean
Gem of the Ocean is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the twentieth century.-Plot :...
.
Film and television
Rashād is best known for another television role, that of attorneyLawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Clair Huxtable on the NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
sitcom The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show
The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
. The show starred Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
as obstetrician Cliff Huxtable, and focused on their life with their five children.
When Cosby returned to TV comedy in 1996 with CBS's Cosby
Cosby
Cosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād...
, he called on Rashād to play Ruth Lucas, his character's wife. The pilot episode had been shot with Telma Hopkins
Telma Hopkins
Telma Louise Hopkins is an American singer and television actress. A member of the 1970s pop group Tony Orlando and Dawn, she later starred in several television sitcoms, including Bosom Buddies, Gimme a Break!, Family Matters, Getting By, and Half & Half...
, but Cosby then fired the executive producer and replaced Hopkins with Rashād. The sitcom ran from 1996 to 2000. That year, Cosby asked Rashād to work on his animated television series Little Bill
Little Bill
Little Bill is a television show for children on Nick Jr. The stories are based on Bill Cosby's Little Bill book series, set in Philadelphia and feature Bill Jr. learning a lesson or moral. It was developed through research and in consultation with a panel of educational consultants.The show also...
, in which the actress voiced Bill's mother, Brenda, until the show's end in 2002. She also played a role in the pre-show of the "Dinosaur" ride at Walt Disney World's Animal Kingdom theme park.
In 2003, she was honored as Woman of the Year by the Harvard Black Men's Forum. In 2005, Rashād received an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts (D.F.A.) degree from Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
.
She played Kill Moves' affluent mother on Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris
Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years...
on Sunday, December 9, 2007. In 2007 she appeared as Winnie Guster in the Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
episode Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy. She returned to the role in 2008, in the episode Christmas Joy.
In February 2008, she appeared in the television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun. She starred on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
as Big Mama in an all-African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
's Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
directed by her sister Debbie Allen
Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, dancer, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities...
. She appeared alongside stage veterans James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
(Big Daddy) and Anika Noni Rose
Anika Noni Rose
Anika Noni Rose is an American singer and actress known for her Tony Award winning performance in the Broadway production of Caroline, or Change and her starring roles in the films Dreamgirls and The Princess and the Frog....
(Maggie), as well as film actor Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard
Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...
, who makes his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut as Brick. She will appear as Violet Weston, the drug-addicted matriarch of Tracy Lett's award-winning play, August: Osage County
August: Osage County
August: Osage County is a darkly comedic play by Tracy Letts. It was the recipient of the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play premiered at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago on 28 June 2007, and closed on 26 August 2007. Its Broadway debut was at the Imperial Theater on 4 December 2007 and...
at the Music Box Theatre
Music Box Theatre
The Music Box Theater is a Broadway theatre located at 239 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan.The once most aptly named theater on Broadway, the intimate Music Box was designed by architect C. Howard Crane and constructed by composer Irving Berlin and producer Sam H. Harris specifically to...
.
In November 2010, Rashād starred in the Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
film For Colored Girls, based on the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf is a 1975 experimental play by Ntozake Shange. Initially staged in California, it has been performed Off-Broadway and on Broadway, and adapted as a book, a television film, and a theatrical film...
by Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange
Ntozake Shange born October 18, 1948, is an American playwright, and poet. As a self proclaimed black feminist, much of the content of her work addresses issues relating to race and feminism....
.
Awards
- Rashād received two Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy SeriesPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy SeriesThis is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. The award was first presented in 1953, but was not awarded again until 1959...
, for The Cosby ShowThe Cosby ShowThe Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992...
. She received an Emmy Award Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie for A Raisin in the Sun in 2008.
- In 2004, Rashād became the first African-American actress to win the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a PlayTony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a PlayThis is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:...
, for her role in the revival of A Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the SunA Raisin in the Sun is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" by Langston Hughes...
. She was nominated for the same award the following year, for Gem of the OceanGem of the OceanGem of the Ocean is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, The Pittsburgh Cycle, dramatizing the African-American experience in the twentieth century.-Plot :...
. Also, the 2008 television adaption of A Raisin in the Sun earned her the 2009 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic SpecialThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special:*Most Wins: Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard- 2 wins*Most Nominations:-Stats:...
.
- In 2011, Rashád won the "Outstanding Supporting Actress" award at the Black Reel AwardsBlack Reel AwardsThe Black Reel Awards began in 2000 and were designed to annually recognize and celebrate the achievements of black people in feature, independent and television films...
for her role in For Colored Girls. - For Colored Girls also earned her a 2011 NAACP Image AwardNAACP Image AwardAn NAACP Image Award is an accolade presented by the American National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to honor outstanding people of color in film, television, music, and literature....
nomination for NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureThe NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:-Stats:Performances that earned Oscar nominations or wins* Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda* Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls [won Image Award]...
.
- On May 15, 2011 Rashad received an honorary doctorate degree from Spelman College for her work in the Arts.
Personal life
Rashād's first marriage, in 1972, was to dentistDentist
A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...
William Lancelot Bowles, Jr. They had one son, William Lancelot Bowles III, who was born the following year. The marriage ended in 1975. Rashād then married Victor Willis
Victor Willis
Victor Edward Willis is a singer, songwriter, actor; and most known as the original lead singer of the disco group Village People. His persona was the Cop and Naval Officer....
(original lead singer of the Village People
Village People
Village People is a concept disco group that formed in the United States in 1977, well known for their on-stage costumes depicting American cultural stereotypes, as well as their catchy tunes and suggestive lyrics....
) in 1978. Their divorce was finalized in 1982.
She married former NFL wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
and sportscaster Ahmad Rashād
Ahmad Rashad
Ahmad Rashād is an American sportscaster and former professional football player. An All-American running back and wide receiver from Oregon known as Bobby Moore, Rashad was the fourth overall pick in the 1972 NFL Draft, drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals...
on December 14, 1985. It was a third marriage for both of them and she took his last name. They were married after he proposed to her during a pregame show for a nationally televised Thanksgiving Day
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
game between the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
on November 28, 1985. Their daughter, Condola Phyleia Rashād, was born on December 11, 1986 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Along with her son, William, Rashād also has three stepchildren (Ahmad's from a previous marriage): daughters Keva (born in 1970) and Maiysha (born in 1974), and son Ahmad Jr. (born in 1978). The couple divorced in early 2001 but she kept the name Rashād.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984–1992 | The Cosby Show The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992... |
Clair Hanks Huxtable | TV series NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series:-Stats:*Most Wins**Jasmine Guy- 6 wins*Most Nominations-Winners:... (1988,1989) Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (1985,1986) |
| 1987 | Uncle Tom's Cabin Uncle Tom's Cabin Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman.... |
Eliza | |
| 1988 | Mickey's 60th Birthday Mickey's 60th Birthday Mickey's 60th Birthday is the 1988 television special broadcast on the Walt Disney anthology television series on November 13, 1988 on NBC. As the title suggests, it was produced for the 60th anniversary of the Mickey Mouse character... |
TV special | |
| 1988–1990 | A Different World | Clair Hanks Huxtable | TV series |
| 1989 | False Witness False Witness False Witness is an Australian television mini-series produced by Screentime Australia for the Australian subscription television channel UK.TV... |
Lynne Jacobi | TV series |
| Polly Polly "Polly" is a nickname for Mary, which was derived from another nickname for Mary, Molly. It is sometimes used as a name in its own right.-Persons:*Polly Adams, English actress*Polly Adler, Russian born American madam and author... |
Aunt Polly | TV series | |
| 1990 | Reading Rainbow: Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters | ||
| American Red Cross Test | |||
| 1991 | Jailbirds | Janice Grant | TV Movie |
| Stories To Remember: Rhymin' Time | |||
| Blossom Blossom (TV series) Blossom is an American sitcom broadcast on NBC from January 3, 1991 to May 22, 1995. The series stars Mayim Bialik as Blossom Russo, a teenage girl living with her father and two brothers. It was created by Don Reo.- Synopsis :... |
Blossom's Dream Mom | TV series | |
| 1993 | American Playhouse American Playhouse American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.It premiered on January 12, 1982 with The Shady Hill Kidnapping, written and narrated by John Cheever and directed by Paul Bogart... |
Mayor Turner | TV series |
| 1994 | David's Mother David's Mother David's Mother is a 1994 television film directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and stars Kirstie Alley as a devoted mother trying to cope with her autistic teenage son David . The film aired on CBS on April 10, 1994, it has also aired internationally. In the UK it can often be seen on television... |
Gladys Johnson | |
| Touched by an Angel: Tough Love | Elizabeth Jessup | ||
| 1994-2002 | Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della... |
Elizabeth Jessup | TV series |
| 1995 | The Possession of Michael D | Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist) | TV Movie |
| In the House | Rowena | TV series | |
| 1996 | Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored | Ma Ponk | |
| 1996-2000 | Cosby Cosby Cosby is a situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program starred Bill Cosby, Phylicia Rashād... |
Ruth Lucas | TV series NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series:-Stats:*Most Wins**Jasmine Guy- 6 wins*Most Nominations-Winners:... (1997) Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series:-Stats:*Most Wins**Jasmine Guy- 6 wins*Most Nominations-Winners:... (1998) Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy(1998) Nominated - TV Guide Award for Favourite Actress |
| 1998 | Intimate Portrait | ||
| 1999 | Free of Eden | Desiree | TV Movie |
| 1994-2004 | Little Bill Little Bill Little Bill is a television show for children on Nick Jr. The stories are based on Bill Cosby's Little Bill book series, set in Philadelphia and feature Bill Jr. learning a lesson or moral. It was developed through research and in consultation with a panel of educational consultants.The show also... |
Brenda | TV series |
| 2000 | Loving Jezebel | Alice Melville | |
| The Visit The Visit The Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:... |
Dr. Coles | ||
| 2001 | The Old Settler The Old Settler The Old Settler, 2132 m prominence: 1222 m, is the highest mountain in the southernmost part of the Lillooet Ranges of the Coast Mountains in British Columbia, Canada, located between the Fraser Canyon and Harrison Lake to the northeast of the town of Agassiz between Bear and Cogburn... |
Elizabeth | TV Movie Nominated - AFI TV Award for Actor of the Year Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special:*Most Wins: Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard- 2 wins*Most Nominations:-Stats:... |
| 2002 | Touched by an Angel: The Last Chapter | Elizabeth Jessup | |
| 2003 | Great Women of Television and Comedy | Herself | |
| 2007 | Working in the Theatre | Actor | TV series |
| Everybody Hates Chris Everybody Hates Chris Everybody Hates Chris is an African American television period sitcom inspired by the teenage experiences of comedian Chris Rock , while growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York . The show is set from 1982 to 1987; however, Rock himself was a teenager during years... |
Kathleen Devereaux | TV series | |
| 2007-2008 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Mrs. Guster / Winnie Guster | TV series |
| 2008 | |||
| A Raisin in the Sun | Lena Younger | TV Movie NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special:*Most Wins: Cicely Tyson, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard- 2 wins*Most Nominations:-Stats:... Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film -1990s:*1996: Helen Mirren - Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgment**Kirstie Alley - Suddenly**Lolita Davidovich - Harvest on Fire**Laura Dern - The Siege of Ruby Ridge**Jena Malone - Hidden in America... Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
|
| 2008 | The Life & Times of Tim The Life & Times of Tim The Life & Times of Tim is an HBO comedy animated television series, which premiered on September 28, 2008. The series was created by Steve Dildarian, and is about a hapless man in his mid 20s named Tim who lives in New York City with his girlfriend Amy... |
The Boss's Wife | TV series |
| 2008 | Everybody Hates Chris | Clair Hanks Huxtable | TV series; Crossover Guest Star from The Cosby Show The Cosby Show The Cosby Show is an American television situation comedy starring Bill Cosby, which aired for eight seasons on NBC from September 20, 1984 until April 30, 1992... |
| 2010 | Just Wright Just Wright Just Wright is a 2010 romantic comedy film starring Common and Queen Latifah that tells the story of a physical therapist who falls in love with a pro basketball player. The film received mixed reviews.-Plot:... |
Ella McKnight | |
| Frankie & Alice | Edna | ||
| For Colored Girls | Gilda | Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Black Reel Award: Best Ensemble -Winners/Nominees:... Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress Black Reel Award: Best Supporting Actress Here are the winners & nominees for the Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress.* Taraji P. Henson, Viola Davis, Rosario Dawson, Kerry Washington, Gabrielle Union, Queen Latifah, Joy Bryant, Nia Long & Angela Bassett are currently tied for the most nominations with two each.*6... Nominated - NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture The NAACP Image Award winners for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture:-Stats:Performances that earned Oscar nominations or wins* Sophie Okonedo - Hotel Rwanda* Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls [won Image Award]... |