Bio

Phylicia Rashad, an accomplished actress and stage director, became a household name when she portrayed ‘Claire Huxtable’ on The Cosby Show, a character whose enduring appeal has earned numerous awards and honors for over two decades. Her film and television credits include: A Fall From Grace, Creed and Creed II, For Colored Girls, Soul, Jingle Jangle, and Black Box; This is Us (three Emmy nominations), David Makes Man, and Empire. Inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 2016, Ms. Rashad received Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance as ‘Lena Younger’ in A Raisin in the Sun, the Lucille Lortel Award for her performance as ‘Shelah’ in Head of Passes, and a Tony nomination for her portrayal of ‘Aunt Ester’ in August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean. Ms. Rashad has directed plays by August Wilson (Gem of the Ocean, Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), Stephen Adly Guirgis, (Our Lady of 121st Street) and Paul Oakley Stovall (Immediate Family) at prestigious regional and Off-Broadway Theaters. Rashad, who serves as Co-Chair of the Advisory Council for the African American Cultural Heritage Fund, was recently appointed Dean of the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts at Howard University.