Sabrina Marie Le Beauf (born March 21, 1958) is an American actress best known for her portrayal of

Sondra Huxtable Sondra Huxtable Tibideaux is a fictional character from the 1980s television series, ''The Cosby Show''. Background and production Sondra Huxtable did not appear in the pilot episode of the show. Sondra was created when Bill Cosby wanted the sh ...

on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sitcom A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of character (arts), characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent settin ...

The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom created by (along with Ed. Weinberger and Michael J. Leeson) and starring Bill Cosby that originally aired on NBC from September 20, 1984, to April 30, 1992, with a total of 201 half-hour e ...

''. She has voiced the character Norma Bindlebeep on the

Nick at Nite Nick at Nite (stylized as nick@nite since 2009) is an American nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon. List of programs broadcast by Nick at Nite, The block's programming broadcasts from prime time to Late-night television, late night, with ...

animated series An animated series, or a cartoon series, is a set of Animation, animated films with a common title, usually related to one another. These episodes typically share the same main heroes, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series ...

Fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fathe ...

'', a show based on

Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...

's book of the same name.

Early life

Sabrina was born on March 21, 1958, in New Orleans, Louisiana. Eager to leave the strictly segregated lifestyle of 1950s Louisiana behind, her family moved to Los Angeles, California soon after her birth. Her parents divorced, and Sabrina lived with her maternal grandmother, Sce Ethel Holmes, in south central LA until her mother's remarriage. When Sabrina was 10 years old, she returned to live with her mother and stepfather in Inglewood, California. Acting interested her from a young age, and she performed in many school plays, starring as Cinderella in elementary school. Sabrina also took on leadership roles, including high school class president at St. Matthias Catholic Girls High School and a Girls' State delegate. After high school Sabrina attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, earning her undergraduate degree in theater. During her time at UCLA she became frustrated by the lack of parts offered to African American students, and in response formed a black students' theater group to allow them to put on their own shows. In September 1980, she began graduate work at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

, where she earned her master's degree in acting.

Career

In 1984, Le Beauf auditioned for the role of the eldest Huxtable daughter Sondra on ''

''. 26 years old at the time of her audition, she was initially considered too old to play one of the children, being only 10 years younger than

Phylicia Rashad Phylicia Rashad ( ) ( Ayers-Allen; born June 19, 1948) 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. Known for her roles on stage and scree ...

, the actress who played her mother,

Clair Huxtable Clair Huxtable is a fictional character who appears on the American sitcom ''The Cosby Show'' (1984–1992). Portrayed by actress Phylicia Rashad, Clair, the wife of Cliff Huxtable and mother of their five children, is the matriarch of the sho ...

. Pop singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

also auditioned for the same part, but refused to sign the contract as she also wanted to become a singer. Her refusal to sign the contract which would bind her to the show and put a singing career on the back burner forced the producers to give the role to Le Beauf. Sabrina went on to play Sondra Huxtable for all eight seasons of ''The Cosby Show'', from 1984 through the series' end in 1992. Sondra, a Princeton graduate that went on to marry and start a family of her own, was a popular character on the show; in 1988, 50 million viewers tuned in to watch Sondra give birth to twins, named Winnie and Nelson in honor of Nelson and Winnie Mandela. During her time on ''The Cosby Show'', Le Beauf also appeared in the series ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'' and the TV movie ''Howard Beach: Making a Case for Murder''. She also had brief appearances as bridge officer Ensign Giusti on two episodes of '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' and on the comedy ''The Sinbad Show.'' Le Beauf also continued her work in the theater, starring as Rosalind in a production of Shakespeare's ''As You Like It''. Currently, Le Beauf is a frequent leading lady performing with the

Shakespeare Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare canon, but its seasons inc ...

in Washington, D.C. She recently portrayed Katherine in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'' with the Company in D.C. Le Beauf also appeared in the off-Broadway play “Love, Loss and What I Wore” that ran from 2009 to 2012.

Personal life

While performing at the Folger Theater in Washington, Le Beauf met businessman and producer Michael Reynolds in 1987. They married less than one month later, settling in New York. They remained married for over ten years but filed for divorce in 1997, which Le Beauf described as "a mutual decision."

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

1989: Best Young Actor/Actress Ensemble in a Television Comedy, Drama Series or Special ''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Le Beauf, Sabrina Actresses from Louisiana 1958 births Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni Louisiana Creole people American interior designers American voice actresses People from Ama, Louisiana People from Downey, California American television actresses American stage actresses American women interior designers 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American actresses 21st-century African-American actresses