Clair Huxtable

Clair Huxtable
The Cosby Show character
Clair Huxtable, portrayed by Phylicia Rashad, as she appears in an episode of The Cosby Show.
First appearance	Pilot (September 20, 1984)
Last appearance	And So We Commence (April 30, 1992)
Created by	Bill Cosby
Portrayed by	Phylicia Rashad
Information
Full name	Clair Olivia Huxtable
Gender	Female
Occupation	Lawyer
Spouse(s)	Cliff Huxtable
Children	Sondra Huxtable–Tibideaux Denise Huxtable–Kendall Theo Huxtable Vanessa Huxtable Rudy Huxtable
Relatives	Al Hanks (father) Carrie Hanks (mother) Sarah Hanks (sister) Pamela Tucker (cousin) Ellis Wilson (great-uncle)
Nationality	American

Clair Olivia Huxtable (née Hanks) is a fictional character who appears in the American sitcom The Cosby Show. Portrayed by actress Phylicia Rashad, Clair, the wife of Dr. 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 while running a formidable household. The character debuted alongside most of her family in The Cosby Show's pilot, "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 Allers-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 tapings.

Typically playing 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.