Biography
Phylicia Rashād (née Ayers-Allen; June 19, 1948) 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, which earned her Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She reprised her role on the sitcom A Different World. She's also known for her roles as Eloise Parker in The Beekeeper, Mary Anne Creed in the Creed film trilogy, Dr. Woods-Trap on OWN's David Makes Man, Dr. Vanessa Young on the drama series Do No ...
Known For
Complete Filmography

The Beekeeper
2024
as Eloise Parker
One man's campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization kno...

Heaven Down Here
2023
as Nancy
Inspired by Mickey Guyton’s song of the same name, “Heaven Down Here” tells the story of four disparate people who find themselves stranded in a local...

Our Son
2023
as Maya
When his husband Gabriel files for divorce, Nicky fights for custody of their 8-year-old son Owen, as he struggles to come to terms with what it means...

Being Mary Tyler Moore
2023
as Self (voice)
With unprecedented access to the Mary Tyler Moore Estate, friends, family, and colleagues, Being Mary Tyler Moore constructs an intimate mosaic of Mar...

Creed III
2023
as Mary-Anne Creed
After dominating the boxing world, Adonis Creed has thrived in his career and family life. When a childhood friend and former boxing prodigy, Damian A...

tick, tick... BOOM!
2021
as "Sunday" Legend #12
On the brink of turning 30, a promising theater composer navigates love, friendship and the pressure to create something great before time runs out.

Show of Titles
2021
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
An evening of celebrated stars performing the titles songs from Broadway’s best.

Chadwick Boseman: Portrait of an Artist
2021
as Self
An intimate look at the Oscar-nominated actor’s incomparable artistry, and the acting process which informed his transformative performances. Viola Da...

Angry, Raucous, and Shamelessly Gorgeous
2021
as Anna Campbell
Anna Campbell, now 65, sparked controversy when she bared it all on stage years ago. When a theatre festival asks to re-stage the work with a younger ...

Twenty Pearls: The Story of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority
2021
as Narrator (voice)
"Twenty Pearls" tells a powerful story of sisterhood. In 1908, nine Black women enrolled at Howard University made one decision that would change the ...

Soul
2020
as Libba Gardner (voice)
Joe Gardner is a middle school teacher with a love for jazz music. After a successful audition at the Half Note Club, he suddenly gets into an acciden...

Between the World and Me
2020
as Self
Based on Ta-Nehisi Coates’ #1 New York Times bestseller and originally adapted and staged by the Apollo Theater, this special combines elements of tha...

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey
2020
as Grandmother Journey
An imaginary world comes to life in a holiday tale of an eccentric toymaker, his adventurous granddaughter, and a magical invention that has the power...

Black Box
2020
as Lillian
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really ...

Chadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King
2020
as Self - Actress
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.

A Fall from Grace
2020
as Sarah
When a law-abiding woman gets indicted for murdering her husband, her lawyer soon realizes that a larger conspiracy may be at work.

Creed II
2018
as Mary Anne Creed
Between personal obligations and training for his next big fight against an opponent with ties to his family's past, Adonis Creed is up against the ch...
Charlie's Place
2018
as Narrator (voice)
The story of an African American nightclub in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina that was a significant stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit in the segregated South...

Tour de Pharmacy
2017
as Victoria Young
A mockumentary that chronicles the prevalence of doping in the world of professional cycling.
JFK: The Lost Inaugural Gala
2017
as Self - Host
Documentary about the star-studded pre-inaugural gala that took place on January 19, 1961 to celebrate John F. Kennedy's election.

Creed
2015
as Mary Anne Creed
The former World Heavyweight Champion Rocky Balboa serves as a trainer and mentor to Adonis Johnson, the son of his late friend and former rival Apoll...

Emily & Tim
2015
as Emily (Segment 5)
The movie is comprised of six vignettes. A look at the tumultuous marriage of Tim and Emily Hanratty over half a century.

August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand
2015
as Self
Unprecedented access to Wilson’s theatrical archives, rarely seen interviews and new dramatic readings bring to life his seminal 10-play cycle chronic...

Life's Essentials with Ruby Dee
2014
as Self
In this open-letter style documentary, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis' rich lives guide their grandson on his personal quest to master lasting love, conscious...

Gods Behaving Badly
2013
as Demeter
Greek gods living in modern-day New York intervene in the lives of a young couple.

Steel Magnolias
2012
as Clairee
In an updated contemporary version of the beloved stage play and 1989 film, "Steel Magnolias" chronicles the lives and friendship of six women in Loui...

Good Deeds
2012
as Wilimena Deeds
For all his life, wealthy businessman Wesley Deeds has done what's expected of him and has settled into a predictable routine. His scripted life begin...

Change of Plans
2011
as Dorothy
Sally and Jason Danville's life are turned upside down when a tragic accident suddenly names them the caretakers of four young children.

Frankie & Alice
2010
as Edna
A drama centered on a go-go dancer with multiple personality disorder who struggles to remain her true self and begins working with a psychotherapist ...

For Colored Girls
2010
as Gilda
About existence from the perspective of 20 nameless black females. Each of the women portray one of the characters represented in the collection of tw...

Just Wright
2010
as Ella McKnight
Physical therapist Leslie Wright lands the dream job of working with basketball superstar Scott McKnight, helping him recover from a career-threatenin...

A Raisin in the Sun
2008
as Lena Younger
Dreams can make a life worth living, but they can also be dashed by bad decisions. This is the crossroads whare the Younger family find themselves whe...

The Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002
as Self / Clair Huxtable (archive footage)
A retrospective of the phenomenally popular 1984-1992 situation comedy, "The Cosby Show," complete with memorable clips, bloopers and comments from se...

NBC 75th Anniversary Special
2002
as Self
A celebration of NBC's 75 year history, featuring clips of special moments.

Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man
2001
as Cassandra Hawkins
Jessica Fletcher discovers a shocking old family secret that leads her on a journey to the deep South to bring to light the mysterious details surroun...
The Old Settler
2001
as Elizabeth Barney
The Old Settler is the story of two middle-aged sisters, Elizabeth and Quilly, who share an apartment in Harlem in 1943. The sisters quarrel amiably, ...
The Visit
2001
as Dr. Coles
A young man dying in prison brings his family together for a fateful visit, and proceeds to put his life back together.

Free of Eden
1999
as Desiree
Story about Will Cleamons, a former teacher-turned-businessman who agrees to tutor 18-year-old high school dropout, Nicole Turner. Much to his surpris...

Once Upon a Time... When We Were Colored
1996
as Ma Ponk
A narrator tells the story of his childhood years in a tightly knit Afro-American community in the deep south under racial segregation.

The Babysitter's Seduction
1996
as Kate Jacobs
The mother of the family for which Michelle baby-sits dies unexpectedly. Michelle is asked to take over looking after the children and is gradually "s...

The Possession of Michael D.
1995
as Dr. Marion Hale (Psychiatrist)
When a dark force begins to destroy a couple's happiness, they decide to turn to a parapsychologist who discovers that the husband is possessed by a d...

David's Mother
1994
as Gladys Johnson
Sally Goodson has been raising her autistic son David alone since her husband left many years ago. Now a social worker discovers that Sally has been d...
Hallelujah
1993
as Mayor Turner
Christmas at the Messiah Church in Washington D.C. A young preacher and, later in the day, a mysterious pregnant girl arrive at the church doors looki...

Jailbirds
1991
as Janice Grant
Personalities clash when a city executive and a small town seamstress are thrown into jail for crimes they didn't commit and then escape, handcuffed t...

Polly: Comin' Home!
1990
as Aunt Polly
Broadway style songs are used to tell this interesting story of an ingenious orphan who gets involved in matchmaking and striving for inter-racial und...

The Earth Day Special
1990
as Clair Huxtable
The Earth Day Special is a television special revolving around Earth Day that aired on ABC on April 22, 1990. Sponsored by Time Warner, the two hour s...

Polly
1989
as Aunt Polly
An musical adaptation of the book "Pollyanna" set in the 1950's in which an orphan tries to use gladness to unite the people in a small southern town.

False Witness
1989
as Lynne Jacobi
An assistant district attorney's (Phylicia Rashad) co-worker lover (Philip Michael Thomas) plans to prove her wrong about a case.

Mickey's 60th Birthday
1988
as Disneyland Cleaning Lady
This film combines live action/original animation and library animation. Mickey steals a magic hat from a Sorcerer and is put under a spell by the ang...

A Different World
1987
as Clair Huxtable
A Different World is an American sitcom television series and a spin-off of The Cosby Show. It aired for six seasons on NBC from September 24, 1987, t...

Uncle Tom's Cabin
1987
as Eliza
The life of an aging black slave, Tom, and the people he interacts with.

We're Fighting Back
1981
Inspired by the exploits of New York's Guardian Angels, which began as a band of streetwise young people who formed an anti-crime subway patrol and we...

The Broad Coalition
1972
A man becomes pregnant in a zany comedy.
Coretta Scott
N/A
as Self - Narrator (voice)
(2013) This extraordinary union of poetic text by Ntozake Shange and monumental artwork by kadir Nelson captures the movement for civil rights in the ...
R&B
N/A
as Naomi
The story of a young woman who escapes the Atlanta music scene to care for an elderly widowed woman and in the process finds the love of her life and ...