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IMDbPro

Phylicia Rashad

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Phylicia Rashad
Life is full of possibilities, you just have to know where to look. Watch the new trailer for Disney and Pixar's Soul, streaming this Christmas only on Disney+.
Play trailer2:24
Soul (2020)
42 Videos
99+ Photos
Phylicia Rashad was born in Houston, Texas to African-American parents Vivian Elizabeth (Ayers), a poet and art director, and Andrew Arthur Allen, an orthodontist. As a child, Phylicia, her older brother Andrew (called Tex), and younger sister, dancer and actress Debbie Allen, lived in Mexico. She has another brother, Hugh Allen (a real-estate banker in North Carolina). Their mother decided to live in Mexico to give the Allen children a brief experience of not having to endure the chronic racism and segregation that was typical of Texas during the 1950s. Phylicia and Debbie are fluent in Spanish. Phylicia graduated from Howard University and later taught drama there.

With younger sister Debbie Allen, she has a production company, D.A.D., which stood for Doctor Allen's Daughters. Her Pulitzer-nominated mother is the artistic and free spirit that has influenced and encouraged the remarkable creativity that so marks Rashad as a performer.
BornJune 19, 1948
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 19, 1948
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 6 Primetime Emmys
      • 18 wins & 37 nominations total

    Leading Ladies of the 1980s

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    Photos

    Photos216

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    Known for

    Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
    The Cosby Show
    7.4
    TV Series
    • Clair Huxtable
    Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Thandiwe Newton, Anika Noni Rose, and Kerry Washington in For Colored Girls (2010)
    For Colored Girls
    6.3
    • Gilda
    • 2010
    Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed (2015)
    Creed
    7.6
    • Mary Anne Creed
    • 2015
    Sylvester Stallone and Michael B. Jordan in Creed II (2018)
    Creed II
    7.1
    • Mary Anne Creed
    • 2018

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • The Gilded Age
      • Mrs. Elizabeth Kirkland
      • Released
      • TV Series
      • 2025
    • R&B
      • Post-production
    • Road of Vengeance
      • Goddess
      • In Production
      • TV Series



    • Stranded (2024)
      Stranded
      7.0
      Podcast Series
      • Mary (voice)
      • 2024
    • Curses! (2023)
      Curses!
      6.9
      TV Series
      • Georgia (voice)
      • 2023–2024
    • Morris Chestnut and Diarra Kilpatrick in Diarra from Detroit (2024)
      Diarra from Detroit
      7.7
      TV Series
      • Vonda
      • 2024
    • Jason Statham in The Beekeeper (2024)
      The Beekeeper
      6.3
      • Eloise Parker
      • 2024
    • Radio Play Revival (2021)
      Radio Play Revival
      8.1
      Podcast Series
      • Phoenix Jackson
      • 2023
    • Tina Lifford, Juan Riedinger, Richard Harmon, and Krystal Joy Brown in Heaven Down Here (2023)
      Heaven Down Here
      7.0
      TV Movie
      • Nancy
      • 2023
    • Our Son (2023)
      Our Son
      5.0
      • Maya
      • 2023
    • The Crossover (2023)
      The Crossover
      5.5
      TV Series
      • Barbara
      • 2023
    • Michael B. Jordan and Jonathan Majors in Creed III (2023)
      Creed III
      6.7
      • Mary-Anne Creed
      • 2023
    • Untitled TV Drama
      TV Mini Series
      • 2022
    • Conphidance in Little America (2020)
      Little America
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Margaret Jean the Queen
      • 2022
    • Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald in The Good Fight (2017)
      The Good Fight
      8.3
      TV Series
      • Renetta Clark
      • 2022
    • Andrew Garfield in tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
      tick, tick... BOOM!
      7.5
      • 'Sunday' Legend #12
      • 2021
    • David Makes Man (2019)
      David Makes Man
      7.5
      TV Series
      • Dr. Woods-Trap
      • 2019–2021
    • James Pickens Jr., Ellen Pompeo, and Chandra Wilson in Grey's Anatomy (2005)
      Grey's Anatomy
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Nell Timms
      • 2021

    Producer



    • PBS Hollywood Presents
      6.8
      TV Series
      • co-executive producer
      • 2001
    • Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad in The Old Settler (2001)
      The Old Settler
      8.2
      TV Movie
      • executive producer
      • 2001

    Soundtrack



    • Andrew Garfield in tick, tick... BOOM! (2021)
      tick, tick... BOOM!
      7.5
      • performer: "Sunday"
      • 2021
    • Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Kimberly Elise, Thandiwe Newton, Anika Noni Rose, and Kerry Washington in For Colored Girls (2010)
      For Colored Girls
      6.3
      • performer: "Main Title" (uncredited)
      • 2010
    • Dulé Hill and James Roday Rodriguez in Psych (2006)
      Psych
      8.4
      TV Series
      • performer: "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" (uncredited)
      • 2007
    • Baby's Nursery Rhymes
      Video
      • performer: "Opening Theme", "Sing a Song of sixpence", "My Black Hen", "Humpty Dumpty", "Mary Had a Litle Lamb", "A Crooked Man", "Little Miss Muffet/Jack Horner", "It's Raining, It's Pouring", "Doctor Foster", "Rub-a-Dub-dub", "This Little Pig", "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep", "Little Boy Blue", "Jack and Jill", "Old Mother Hubbard", "Where Has My Little Dog Gone?", "Little Tom Tinker's Dog", "Charlie Barlie", "Pussy's in the Well", "Pussy Cat", "Contrary Mary", "The Girl with a Curl", "Little Bo Peep", "Old King Cole", "Three Little Kittens", "What Will Poor Robin Do?", "Poll Parrot", "Jack Be Nimble", "Willy Winky", "Goosy Gander", "Hickory, Dickeory, Dock", "Three Blind Mice", "Rock-a-Bye Baby", "Old Woman Tossed Up in a Basket", "Twinkle, Little Star", "Closing Theme" (played during the closing credits)
      • 1992
    • Polly: Comin' Home! (1990)
      Polly: Comin' Home!
      7.5
      TV Movie
      • performer: "I Can't Hear My Heart", "Show Us the Way"
      • 1990
    • Walt Disney in The Magical World of Disney (1954)
      The Magical World of Disney
      8.3
      TV Series
      • performer: "Something More", "Rainbow Maker"
      • 1989
    • Mickey's 60th Birthday (1988)
      Mickey's 60th Birthday
      7.0
      TV Movie
      • performer: "Magic, It's All Up To You"
      • 1988
    • Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford in The 42nd Annual Tony Awards (1988)
      The 42nd Annual Tony Awards
      7.5
      TV Special
      • performer: "Into the Woods", "Children Will Listen"
      • 1988
    • Lisa Bonet, Bill Cosby, Tempestt Bledsoe, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Phylicia Rashad, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner in The Cosby Show (1984)
      The Cosby Show
      7.4
      TV Series
      • performer: "I Just Called To Say I Love You"
      • 1986

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Videos42

    Lauren Ridloff Receives the IMDb "Fan Favorite" STARmeter Award
    Clip 2:54
    Lauren Ridloff Receives the IMDb "Fan Favorite" STARmeter Award
    Angela Bassett, Jamie Foxx, and Tina Fey Share Life Lessons Learned From 'Soul'
    Clip 2:39
    Angela Bassett, Jamie Foxx, and Tina Fey Share Life Lessons Learned From 'Soul'
    Angela Bassett, Jamie Foxx, and Tina Fey Share Life Lessons Learned From 'Soul'
    Clip 2:39
    Angela Bassett, Jamie Foxx, and Tina Fey Share Life Lessons Learned From 'Soul'
    The Cosby Show: Clip -- Cliff's Eating Habits
    Clip 1:04
    The Cosby Show: Clip -- Cliff's Eating Habits
    Good Deeds
    Clip 0:40
    Good Deeds
    Polly Comin' Home
    Clip 1:26
    Polly Comin' Home
    Polly Comin' Home
    Clip 1:39
    Polly Comin' Home

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Alternative names
      • Phylicia Ayers Allen
    • Height
      • 5′ 6″ (1.68 m)
    • Born
      • June 19, 1948
      • Houston, Texas, USA
    • Spouses
        Ahmad RashadDecember 14, 1985 - February 2001 (divorced, 1 child)
    • Children
        William Lancelot Bowles III
    • Parents
      • Vivian Elizabeth Ayers
    • Relatives
        Debbie Allen(Sibling)
    • Other works
      Starring in "Blue" at Washington DC's Arena Stage. (April 2000 - present)
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Portrayal
      • 2 Interviews
      • 4 Articles
      • 2 Pictorials

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Ahmad Rashad proposed to her on national TV during the halftime show of NBC's Thanksgiving Day broadcast of the game between the Detroit Lions and the New York Jets. Earlier in the day, she had worked NBC's Macy's Thanksgiving Day telecast. Within minutes of hearing Ahmad's request, she came onto NBC's "NFL Live" halftime set and accepted his proposal live on TV. O.J. Simpson was best man at her 1985 wedding to Ahmad Rashad and Bill Cosby walked her down the aisle.

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