Clair Olivia Hanks Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on
the American sitcom The Cosby Show (1984â€"1992). Portrayed by actress
Phylicia Rashad, Clair, the wife of Cliff Huxtable and mother of their
five children, is the matriarch of the show's central Huxtable family.
Working as a lawyer, Clair values the importance of maintaining a
successful career and strong household simultaneously. The character
debuted alongside most of her family in the pilot episode, "Theo's
Economic Lesson", which premiered on September 20, 1984.Created by
comedian Bill Cosby, Clair is based on Cosby's own wife, Camille.
Cosby originally intended for the character to be a plumber, but the
producers and Camille ultimately convinced him to rewrite her into a
lawyer to reflect a family that closer resembled their own. At one
point, Clair had also been envisioned as a Dominican housewife who
speaks Spanish when frustrated, inspired by Ricky Ricardo from the
sitcom I Love Lucy, but this idea was also abandoned. Rashad,
originally credited as Phylicia Ayers-Allen, won the role by
exhibiting a subtlety in her audition that other candidates lacked.
After marrying husband Ahmad Rashad and adopting his surname, Rashad
became pregnant with their child during the show's third season, thus
requiring her to conceal her pregnancy during episode
tapings.Typically playing straight woman to Cosby's humorous Cliff,
Rashad's character began to adopt more comedic material during the
show's second season, although she maintains her disciplinarian status
within her own household. Since The Cosby Show's inception, Cosby had
always intended for Clair to reflect the ways in which women's roles
have evolved in both the home and workplace. Clair is depicted as a
hardworking career woman with strong feminist principles, most evident
in the character's early confrontations with chauvinistic son-in-law
Elvin. One particularly memorable interaction, dubbed Clair's
"feminist rant" by the media, has become so popular that the scene
continues to be heavily circulated on the Internet and social media,
30 years after its initial appearance. Clair Huxtable Biography, NetWorth, Height, Age, Weight, Family, Married, Son, Daughter