William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American former comedian, actor, spokesman, and media personality. He performed over a period of decades in film, television, and stand-up comedy, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984-1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his eccentric image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him, which has effectively ended his career and tarnished his legacy. There had been previous allegations against Cosby, but they were dismissed and accusers were ignored or disbelieved.
The Cosby Show is an American television sitcom created by and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour episodes spanning eight seasons, including an outtakes special. The show focuses on the Huxtables, an upper middle-class African-American family living in Brooklyn, New York; the series was based on comedy routines in Cosby's stand-up comedy act, which in turn were based on his family life. The series was followed by a spin-off, titled A Different World, which ran from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993, with a total of six seasons consisting of 144 episodes.
Cecily Louise "Cicely" Tyson was an American actress known for her portrayal of strong African-American women. Tyson received various awards including three Emmy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Tony Award, an Honorary Academy Award, and a Peabody Award.
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 to July 9, 1993. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. It was inspired by student life at historically black colleges and universities.
Phylicia Rashad is an American actress. She was most recently dean of the College of Fine Arts at Howard University before her three year contract ended in May 2024. She is best known for her role as Clair Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992) which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations in 1985 and 1986. She also played Ruth Lucas on Cosby (1996–2000).
Malcolm-Jamal Warner is an American actor. He rose to prominence for his role as Theodore Huxtable on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. He is also known for his roles as Malcolm McGee on the UPN sitcom Malcolm & Eddie (1996–2000), and Dr. Alex Reed in the sitcom Reed Between the Lines.
Karim Dulé Hill is an American actor. He is known for his roles as personal presidential aide and Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff Charlie Young on the NBC drama television series The West Wing, for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and pharmaceutical salesman-private detective Burton "Gus" Guster on the USA Network television comedy-drama Psych. He also had minor roles in the movies Holes, The Guardian, and She's All That and a recurring role on Ballers. He joined the cast of Suits for the last 2 seasons, and played patriarch Bill Williams in the 2021 remake of The Wonder Years. Hill also serves as a member of the SAG-AFTRA Board of Directors.
Vanessa Estelle Williams, sometimes professionally credited as Vanessa E. Williams, is an American actress and producer. She is best known for her roles as Maxine Joseph–Chadway in the Showtime drama series, Soul Food (2000–2004), for which she received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series and as Nino Brown's feisty gun moll, Keisha in the 1991 crime drama film, New Jack City. Williams is also known for her role as Anne-Marie McCoy in the first and fourth of the Candyman films, and as Rhonda Blair in the first season of the Fox prime time soap opera, Melrose Place (1992–93).
A black sitcom is a sitcom that principally features black people in its cast. Prominent black sitcoms to date typically come from the United States with African American casts, forming a branch of African American comedy. Although sitcoms with primarily black characters have been present since the earliest days of network television, this genre rose to prominence in the 1990s, mostly then on upstart networks outside the Big Three.
Rita Cosby is a television news anchor for Fox, MSNBC and NewsMax, as well as a best selling author. She is a host on the two-hour news show Saturday Report on Newsmax and a special correspondent for the CBS syndicated program Inside Edition, specializing in interviewing newsmakers and political figures. Cosby has the Jack Anderson Award for investigative excellence, the Matrix Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Lech Walesa Freedom Award. October 11, 2010, was declared "Rita Cosby Day" in the State of New York for her “extraordinary journalism and exemplary service on behalf of her community.”
T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh is an American actress and singer. In addition to her status as an original cast member of the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color (1990–1994), Keymáh is also known for her roles as Erica Lucas on the CBS sitcom Cosby (1996–2000), Tanya Baxter on the Disney Channel sitcom That's So Raven (2003–2005), and as the star and host on the Keymáh Network sketch variety show The Cool Crystal Show (2020–present).
Elisabeth Harnois is an American actress. Her career started at the age of five, where she began appearing in a number of film and television roles. As a child, she starred as Alice in Disney's Adventures in Wonderland and as an adult, she starred as Morgan Brody in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation from 2011 to 2015.
Saundra Santiago is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Detective Gina Calabrese in the NBC original crime drama series Miami Vice (1984–1990). She also played Carmen Santos on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light and the second Carlotta Vega on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.
Christina Rene Hendricks is an American actress and former model. With an extensive career on screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Critics' Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is known for her role as Joan Harris in the critically acclaimed AMC drama series Mad Men. In 2010, a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine named her "the sexiest woman in the world". She was also voted "Best Looking Woman in America".
Tanya Rivero has been a news anchor for WABC-TV since July 2024. Previously, she was a news anchor for CBS News from 2017-2024. She was also the host of Lunch Break with Tanya Rivero on Wall Street Journal Live between April 2014 and 2017.
The 6th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and dance for the 1983–1984 season, and took place on December 2, 1984, in Hollywood, California.
The 9th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television and music for the 1986-1987 season, and took place on December 5, 1987, at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood, California.
The 10th Youth in Film Awards ceremony, presented by the Youth in Film Association, honored outstanding youth performers under the age of 21 in the fields of film, television, theater and music for the 1987-1988 season, and took place on May 6, 1989, at the Registry Hotel in Universal City, California.
Pauline Tanyaradzwa Adele "Tanya" Fear is a British actress and comedian. She had a recurring role on the 2015 television series Spotless and appeared in the Doctor Who episode "Arachnids in the UK" in 2018. In 2021 she announced that she would use the name Tanyaradzwa Fear professionally, having previously been credited as Tanya Fear.
Diane Guerrero is an American actress. She is known for her roles as inmate Maritza Ramos in the Netflix series Orange Is the New Black and Lina on Jane the Virgin. Guerrero grew up in Boston and remained there after the rest of her family was deported to Colombia. She is an advocate for immigration reform. Her role on Orange Is the New Black has contributed to three consecutive wins for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Guerrero is the author of In the Country We Love: My Family Divided, a memoir about her parents being detained and deported when she was fourteen. She starred as Jane in the Max action-drama series Doom Patrol. She also voiced the character Isabela Madrigal in the 2021 Disney film Encanto.
