Phylicia Rashad was born in Houston, Texas. She is the older sister of actress, director and choreographer Debbie Allen. She achieved her first mainstream fame with her role in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. In the later stages of her career, she performed in such productions as August: Osage County, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Jewel of the Ocean, Raisin in the Sun, which earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 2004, and many other productions.

Filmography:

Year			Film
1984			One Life to Live
1984—1992			The Cosby Show
1985			Santa Barbara
1985			The Love Boat
1988—1990			A Different World
1990			Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1991			Blossom
1994			David’s Mother
1994—2002			Touched by an Angel
1995			The Possession of Michael D.
2007			Everybody Hates Chris
2007—2014			Psych
2008			The Life & Times of Tim
2010			Just Wright
2010			For Colored Girls
2012			Good Deeds
2012			Steel Magnolias
2012—2013			The Cleveland Show
2013			Do No Harm
2013			Gods Behaving Badly
2014			Sofia the First
2015			Creed
2016—2017			Jean-Claude Van Johnson
2016—2018			Empire
2018			Creed II
2019—2021			This Is Us
2020			Station 19
2020			13 Reasons Why
2020			Soul
2021			Grey’s Anatomy
2021			Tick, Tick… Boom!
2023			Creed III