Phylicia Rashad Talks Life After ‘The Cosby Show’ — ‘I’m Just Getting Started!’

She played one of America’s favorite working moms, Clair Huxtable, on the 1984 to 1992 smash The Cosby Show, and in real life, Phylicia Rashad is equally devoted to her children. When her youngest, daughter Condola Rashad, now 31, left for college and Phylicia returned home, “there was silence, and then I lost it for about five minutes,” she exclusively reveals to Closer Weekly. “Thank heavens I had work to keep me together, because I really was a hands-on mother.” With time, she’s learned to embrace her new life. “I was used to making sure that the needs of my two children [including son William Bowles III, 44] were met. I enjoyed it, but I found all this free time for me. That was different!”

Lately, Phylicia’s thrown herself into many new roles — including a spy operative guiding Jean-Claude Van Damme in the recent Amazon series Jean-Claude Van Johnson and a devious matriarch on Fox’s Empire — and she’s making her NYC stage directing debut with the comedy Our Lady of 121st Street, running off-Broadway from May 1 to June 10. Now Phylicia, 69, opens up to Closer about her exciting third act, her family (including her Tony-nominated sister, Debbie Allen, 68) and how, despite three divorces, she feels “surrounded by love.” Scroll down to read our Q&A with Phylicia!

You’ve been really busy showing new sides of yourself in your latest shows!
You see Jean-Claude Van Damme and me in ways you’ve never seen us before [in Jean- Claude Van Johnson]. Not since the days of Get Smart has there been such silly fun! And this summer I was working on the play Head of Passes in LA, then flying to Chicago to film Empire. It was a lot! It was also a blessing.