Jennifer Dempster

She typically participated in the aerobics and stretching segments, although she did occasionally appear in the resistance training and viewer mail portions as well. In 2004, she became the first African-American actress to win the "Best Leading Actress" Award at the Tony Awards, winning for her role in the play, A Raisin in the Sun. Jennifer Dempster was a regular cast member on the television fitness show BodyShaping , which is now shown in reruns. Her sister is actress and dancer Debbie Allen. She was previously married to television sportscaster Ahmad Rashad from 1985 to 2001. She is a graduate of Howard University and later taught drama there.

With her big break on the ABC soap opera, One Life to Live, she is most famous for her role as Bill Cosby's wife and the Huxtable family matriarch on the television show, The Cosby Show. Phylicia Rashad (born Phylicia Ayers-Allen on June 19, 1948 in Houston, Texas) is an African-American activist and actress.