Skip to content
  • Essence GU
  • Beautycon
  • NaturallyCurly
  • Afropunk
  • Essence Studios
  • Soko Mrkt
  • Ese Funds
  • Refinery29
  • WeLoveUs.shop
  • 2026 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
  • Celebrity
  • Fashion
  • Beauty
  • Lifestyle
  • Entrepreneurship
  • News
  • Shopping
  • Video
  • Events
  • Subscribe
Home • News

Phylicia Rashad

Flashback Friday's with Phylicia Rashad
By Essence · Updated October 29, 2020
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…
01
Natural Wonder

Phylicia Rashad, who starred in the television and stage adaptations of “A Raisin in the Sun” poses during the 2008 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
02
Like Fine Wine

Rashad seems to get more beautiful with age. The former Howard University student stays young by keeping active and continuing to take on various projects.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
03
Broadway Baby

Rashad became the first African-American actress to win the Best Actress Tony Award (play) in 2004 for her performance as Lena Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun.” She was selected some years later to announce some of the nominations for the 60th Annual Tony Awards in New York City.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
04
Sisters Doing It for Themselves

Sisters Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad attend the premiere of “Sweeney Todd” in New York. They are currently working on a film project together.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
05
The People’s Choice

The star of “The Cosby Show,” Phylicia Rashad, poses with her People’s Choice Award from 1989. She won the award for her role opposite Bill Cosby as “Clair Huxtable.”

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Getty Images
06
Coupled Up

Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad attended the Jackie Robinson Awards Dinner on April 17, 1989, at the Waldorf Hotel. The two created TV magic as Healthcliff and Clair Huxtable for eight years.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
WireImage
07
Tony Time

Actress Phylicia Rashad is snapped with her 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a play for “A Raisin in the Sun” at The American Theater Wing’s 58th Annual Tony Awards at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
08

Rashad, gliding down the runway, models a dress by Alia Khan in the Red Dress Collection 2005 fashion show at New York’s Fashion Week. Rashad and 25 other high-profile women modeled red dresses by famous designers in support of The Heart Truth, a heart-disease awareness campaign.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
09
Stand By Me

Actress/director Debbie Allen, left, and Rashad hang out with comedy legend Richard Pryor backstage in their heyday. Allen would later go on to join Pryor in “Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life is Calling.”

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
10
Next Generation

Rashad played a mother of five on television but in real life, she’s only mother to daughter Condola Phylea Rashad.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
FilmMagic
11
Surprise Annoucement

A then Phylicia Ayers-Allen married her former husband, sportscaster Ahmad Rashad, in 1985. He proposed to her on national television during the halftime show of the Thanksgiving Day game between the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Getty Images
12
The Huxtables

Rashad calls “The Cosby Show” timeless and feels lucky to have had the privilege to have worked on the show. A cast portrait for the 1984-1985 season includes(front row, left) Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Rashad,(back row, left) Sabrina Le Beauf, Tempestt Bledsoe and Malcolm-Jamal Warner.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Getty Images
13
Simply Beautiful

Phylicia Rashad insists she’s not losing weight on the Jenny Craig plan for appearances but because she wants to have a healthier lifestyle.

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
WireImage
14
Acting Chops

Hip-hop mogul and actor Sean Combs and Rashad present the 2004 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical at the American Theater Wing’s 58th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall. The two starred as mother and son on Broadway and in the film adaptation of “A Raisin in the Sun.”

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Corbis
15
Peas in a Pod

Rashad and Cosby proved their was life after “The Cosby Show” when they starred as Hilton and Ruth Lucas on “Cosby.”

Read our exclusive interview with Phylicia Rashad »

See photos of Phylicia Rashad and the cast of “The Cosby Show” »

Phylicia Rashad
Getty Images