Camille Cosby

{{Short description|American writer and television producer (born 1944)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Camille Cosby

| image = Camille Cosby 1998.jpg

| caption = Cosby in 1998

| alt =

| birth_name = Camille Olivia Hanks

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1944|3|20|mf=yes}}

| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| other_names =

| occupation = {{hlist|Television producer|author|philanthropist}}

| years_active = 1986–present

| known_for = Philanthropy

| awards = Candace Award (1992)

| spouse = {{marriage|Bill Cosby|1964}}

| children = 5, including Erika and Ennis

| alma_mater =

University of Maryland (BA, MA)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (Ed.D.)

}}

Camille Olivia Cosby (née Hanks; born March 20, 1944) is an American television producer, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her. Cosby has avoided public life, but has been active in her husband's businesses as a manager, as well as involving herself in academia and writing. In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in 1992.

Early life and education

Camille Olivia Hanks was born on March 20, 1944, in Washington D.C., to Guy A. Hanks Sr. and Catherine C. HanksContemporary Black Biography (Volume 14), pp. 72–73. and grew up in Norbeck, Maryland, just outside Washington. She is the oldest of four children.{{cite book|last1=Whitaker|first1=Matthew C.|title=Icons of Black America: Breaking Barriers and Crossing Boundaries, Volume 1|date=2011|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313376429|page=194}} Cosby's father was a chemist at Walter Reed General Hospital and her mother worked at a nursery. Both her parents had college educations, with her father earning a graduate degree from Fisk University and her mother earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University.{{cite book|last1=Whitaker|first1=Mark|title=Cosby: His Life and Times|url=https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6|url-access=registration|date=2014|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451697995|pages=[https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6/page/106 106]–107}}

Cosby attended private Catholic schools. First, she attended St. Cyprian's, followed by St. Cecilia's Academy.{{cite news|last1=Roig-Franzia|first1=Manuel|title=Camille Cosby: A life spent juggling her role as public figure with desire to be private|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/camille-cosby-a-life-spent-juggling-her-role-as-public-figure-with-desire-to-be-private/2014/12/23/575ad31e-8528-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html|access-date=October 14, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=December 23, 2014|archive-date=March 12, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160312215132/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/camille-cosby-a-life-spent-juggling-her-role-as-public-figure-with-desire-to-be-private/2014/12/23/575ad31e-8528-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html|url-status=live}} Cosby stated,

"The Oblate Sisters were my first formal educators. They did what all educators should do, that is, convey the knowledge of wide-ranging possibilities, and, more importantly, give a stamp of self-value for every single student."{{cite book |last1=Morrow |first1=Diane Batts |title=Persons of Color and Religious at the Same Time: The Oblate Sisters of Providence, 1828-1860 |date=2002 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807854013 |url=https://archive.org/details/personsofcolorre00morr |url-access=registration |access-date=May 6, 2020}}

After high school, Cosby studied psychology at the University of Maryland, where she met her future husband, Bill Cosby.{{cite news|last1=Telusma|first1=Blue|title=Camille Cosby, another victim of the controversy?|url=http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/opinion/telusma-camille-cosby/|access-date=December 16, 2014|issue=November 20, 2014|publisher=CNN|date=November 20, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220002356/http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/19/opinion/telusma-camille-cosby/|url-status=live}}

In June 1987, Johnnetta Cole of Howard University in Washington, D.C., presented Cosby with a Doctor of Humane Letters, an honorary doctoral degree.{{cite journal|title=Camille Cosby Delivers Howard Graduation Address; Receives Honorary Degree|journal=Jet|date=June 1, 1987|volume=72|issue=10|page=24|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0bMDAAAAMBAJ&q=Camille+Cosby&pg=PA24|access-date=December 17, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184431/https://books.google.com/books?id=0bMDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA24&dq=Camille+Cosby|url-status=live}}

In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in 1992.{{cite web |last1=Cosby |first1=Camille |title=DISSERTATION: The influence of television imagery on selected African-American young adults' self-perceptions. |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6078&context=dissertations_1 |website=ScholarWorks @UMassAmherst |publisher=University of Massachusetts, Amherst |date=May 1992|access-date=8 April 2022}} In a 2014 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said:

{{Blockquote|"I became keenly aware of myself in my mid-thirties. I went through a transition. I decided to go back to school, because I had dropped out of college to marry Bill when I was 19. I had five children, and I decided to go back. I didn't feel fulfilled educationally. I dropped out of school at the end of my sophomore year. So I went back, and when I did, my self-esteem grew. I got my master's, then decided to get my doctoral degree. Education helped me to come out of myself."}}

Career

File:Judith James and Camille Cosby, May 2000.jpg (2000)]]

Cosby has avoided public life.{{cite book |editor1-last=Dow |editor1-first=Sheila M. |title=Business Leader Profiles for Students, Volume 1 |date=1998 |publisher=Gale Group |isbn=9780787629359 |page=177}} She acted as manager for her husband and has been depicted as a "shrewd businesswoman". During an interview with Ebony, Bill Cosby stated: "People would rather deal with me than with Camille. She's rough to deal with when it comes to my business."{{cite journal|last1=Norment|first1=Lynn|title=Three Great Love Stories|journal=Ebony|page=152|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ocwDAAAAMBAJ&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA152|access-date=December 19, 2014|date=February 1988}} She also "help[ed] in the development of her husband's material", including suggestions for The Cosby Show, such as suggesting the Huxtable family be middle- rather than working-class. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her.{{cite news |last1=McCrystal |first1=Laura |last2=Roebuck |first2=Jeremy |title=Bill Cosby's wife is not at his trial. But Camille Cosby's presence looms |url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/camille-cosby-bill-cosby-trial-wife-20180420.html |access-date=May 6, 2020 |publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer |date=April 20, 2018 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184355/https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/pennsylvania/camille-cosby-bill-cosby-trial-wife-20180420.html |url-status=live }}

Cosby supports African-American literature, and has written forewords for several books: in 1993, for Thelma Williams' Our Family Table: Recipes and Food Memories from African-american Life Models;{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Thelma|title=Our Family Table: Recipes And Food Memories From African-American Life Models|date=1993|publisher=Diane Pub Co|isbn=978-0756780937}} in 2009, for Dear Success Seeker: Wisdom from Outstanding Women by Michele R. Wright;{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Michele R.|title=Dear Success Seeker: Wisdom from Outstanding Women|date=2009|publisher=978-1416570790}} and in 2014, for The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women, a book by Edward Lewis of Essence.{{cite book|last1=Lewis|first1=Edward|title=The Man from Essence: Creating a Magazine for Black Women|date=2014|publisher=Atria Books|isbn=978-1476703480}}

In 1994, Cosby released Television's Imageable Influences: The Self-Perception of Young African-Americans, a book that "dramatically charts the damaging impact of derogatory images of African Americans produced in our media establishments".{{cite journal|title=Camille Cosby's Book Explores Negative Images of Blacks in Media|journal=Jet|date=Feb 1995|volume= 87| issue = 16|page=60}} The book was originally intended to be the subject of her thesis for her doctoral degree.{{cite book |last1=Pope |first1=Kitty |title=Beside Every Great Man-- is a Great Woman: African American Women of Courage, Intellect, Strength, Beauty & Perseverance |date=2005 |publisher=Amber Books Publishing |page=69}}

Cosby worked with David C. Driskell on his book The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby Jr., which focused on the Cosbys' art collection in 2001.{{cite book|last1=Driskell|first1=David C.|title=The Other Side of Color: African American Art in the Collection of Camille O. and William H. Cosby Jr.|date=2001|publisher=Pomegranate|isbn=978-0764914553}} Together, Cosby and Renee Poussaint edited A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak in 2004.{{cite book|title=A Wealth of Wisdom: Legendary African American Elders Speak|date=2004|publisher=Atria|isbn=978-0743478922|url=https://archive.org/details/wealthofwisdomle00cami}}

In 2001, Cosby was a co-founder of the National Visionary Leadership Project, a group whose mission is to "develop the next generation of leaders by recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of extraordinary African American elders".{{cite web |title=Camille O. Cosby |url=https://www.c-span.org/person/?camillecosby |website=C-SPAN |access-date=April 30, 2020 |archive-date=June 12, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170612191637/https://www.c-span.org/person/?camillecosby |url-status=live }}

Cosby was co-producer for the Broadway play Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years, based on the 1993 book of the same name by Sarah "Sadie" L. Delany and A. Elizabeth "Bessie" Delany with Amy Hill Hearth.{{cite journal|title=Camille Cosby's Broadway Play, 'Having Our Say', Wins Critical Acclaim|journal=Jet|date=May 1, 1995|volume= 87| issue = 25|pages=62–64}} Following the success of the play, Cosby acquired the film, stage and television rights to the story and later acted as executive producer for the 1999 television movie of the same name.{{cite book|last1=Ross|first1=Lawrence C.|title=The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities|date=January 1, 2001|publisher=Kensington Books|isbn=9780758202703|page=98}}

Philanthropy

Cosby's history of philanthropy includes donations to schools and educational foundations. Her philanthropic memberships include Operation PUSH, The United Negro College Fund, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the National Council of Negro Women, and Jesse Jackson's National Rainbow Coalition.{{cite journal|title=Bill and Camille Cosby Discuss the Secrets of Living a Better Life|journal=Jet|date=October 2, 1989|volume= 76| issue = 26|page=59}}

Beginning at the start of the 1980s, Cosby and her husband donated $100,000 to Central State University (CSU), a historically black university in Ohio, with a second gift of $325,000 in 1987. In September 1989, CSU held the "Camille and Bill Cosby Cleveland Football Classic" in honor of their contributions to the school.{{cite journal|title=Central State U. Honors Cosby Family Generosity at Cleveland Classic|journal=Jet|date=September 11, 1989|volume= 76| issue = 23|page=10}}

In January 1987, the Cosbys donated $1.3 million to Fisk University.{{cite journal|title=Bill and Camille Cosby Make $1.3 Million Gift to Aid Fisk University|journal=Jet|date=January 12, 1987|volume= 71| issue = 16|page=52}} In November 1988, they donated $20 million to Atlanta's Spelman College, a top Historically Black women's college. According to The New York Times, the gift was the largest donation to a black college in American history.{{cite news|last1=Daniels|first1=Lee A.|title=A Black College Gets Cosby Gift Of $20 Million|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/08/us/a-black-college-gets-cosby-gift-of-20-million.html|access-date=December 16, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=November 8, 1988|archive-date=December 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220050301/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/08/us/a-black-college-gets-cosby-gift-of-20-million.html|url-status=live}} The college has since named the five-story 92,000-square-foot Camille Olivia Hanks Cosby Academic Center after her, as well as designating a Camille Cosby Day.{{cite journal|title=Spelman College in Atlanta Opens Center Honoring Dr. Camille Cosby|journal=Jet|date=March 18, 1996|volume=89|issue=18|pages=22–23|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GDgDAAAAMBAJ&q=Camille+Cosby&pg=PA22|access-date=December 17, 2014|archive-date=December 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220172648/https://books.google.com/books?id=GDgDAAAAMBAJ&q=Camille+Cosby&pg=PA22|url-status=live}} A few months after the Spelman donation, Cosby and her husband donated $800,000 to Meharry Medical College and $750,000 to Bethune-Cookman University.{{cite journal|title=Bill and Camille Cosby Give $1.5 Million To Meharry and Bethune-Cookman Colleges|journal=Jet|date=January 9, 1989|volume=75|issue=14|page=5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vr0DAAAAMBAJ&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA5|access-date=December 19, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184354/https://books.google.com/books?id=vr0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=camille+cosby|url-status=live}}

In July 1992, during a gala held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women awarded Cosby the Candace Award, a recognition of minority women who have made valuable contributions to their communities.{{cite journal|title=Camille Cosby, Kathleen Battle Win Candace Awards|journal=Jet|date=July 20, 1992|volume= 82| issue = 13|page=16}} In April 2005, Cosby donated $2 million to St. Frances Academy, a Black Catholic high school in Baltimore. Because of the donation, the school could endow 16 scholarships in Cosby's name.{{cite journal|title=Camille Cosby Donates $2 Million to High School in Baltimore|journal=Jet|date=April 25, 2005|volume= 107| issue = 17|page=41}}

Bill Cosby sexual assault cases

Cosby has defended her husband against accusations that he has sexually assaulted women over his career. In 2014, Cosby released a statement saying that her husband had been the victim of unvetted accusations: "The man I met, and fell in love with, and whom I continue to love, is the man you all knew through his work. He is a kind man ... and a wonderful husband, father and friend."{{cite news|last1=Karimi|first1=Faith|title=Bill Cosby's lawyers fight subpoena against his wife, Camille Cosby|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/19/us/bill-cosby-deposition-subpoena-camille-cosby/|access-date=October 13, 2016|publisher=CNN|date=December 30, 2015|archive-date=December 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212023824/https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/19/us/bill-cosby-deposition-subpoena-camille-cosby/|url-status=live}}

On December 9, 2015, attorney Joseph Cammarata subpoenaed Cosby to give a deposition in a defamation lawsuit filed against her husband by seven women. A U.S. Magistrate Judge later dismissed her motion to quash the subpoena, and she was ordered to testify under oath. In the deposition of February 2016, Cosby invoked spousal privilege when asked whether Bill had been faithful to her.{{cite news|last1=Winter|first1=Tom|title=Bill Cosby's Wife, Camille Cosby, Defends Comedian in Unsealed Deposition|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bill-cosby-scandal/bill-cosby-s-wife-camille-cosby-defends-comedian-unsealed-deposition-n577876|access-date=October 13, 2016|publisher=NBC|date=May 20, 2016|archive-date=October 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014064028/http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/bill-cosby-scandal/bill-cosby-s-wife-camille-cosby-defends-comedian-unsealed-deposition-n577876|url-status=live}} Cosby's support of her husband has been questioned; in The Progressive Revolution, author Ellis Washington wrote: "...I am transfixed by the slavish complicity and psychotic denial of Camille" positing that she may be "the greatest sexual sociopath sympathizer in history".{{cite book |last1=Washington |first1=Ellis |title=The Progressive Revolution: History of Liberal Fascism through the Ages, Vol. V: 2014-2015 Writings |date=2016 |publisher=Hamilton Books|isbn=9780761868507 |page=258 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LycDQAAQBAJ&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA258 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184355/https://books.google.com/books?id=_LycDQAAQBAJ&pg=PA258&dq=camille+cosby |url-status=live }}

After her husband's conviction for sexual assault on May 3, 2018, Cosby released a three-page statement defending her husband, in which she compared his conviction to the racially charged killing of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old boy who was lynched after a white woman said she was offended by him in her family's grocery store. Cosby also called for a criminal investigation into the Pennsylvania prosecutor behind the conviction and argued that her husband had a "binding agreement" with Bruce Castor that he would not be charged in the case.{{cite news |first1= Cleve R. |last1= Wootson Jr. |first2= Sonia |last2= Rao |date= May 3, 2018 |title= Camille Cosby on her husband's conviction: 'This is mob justice, not real justice' |newspaper=The Washington Post |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/05/03/camille-cosby-in-the-case-of-bill-cosby-unproven-accusations-evolved-into-lynch-mobs/ |access-date= May 3, 2018 |archive-date= May 3, 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180503172333/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2018/05/03/camille-cosby-in-the-case-of-bill-cosby-unproven-accusations-evolved-into-lynch-mobs/ |url-status= live }} The Undefeated stated: "Camille Cosby's words show she's trapped in an outdated space."{{cite news |last1=O'Neal |first1=Lonnae |title=Camille Cosby's words show she's trapped in an outdated space |url=https://andscape.com/features/bill-camille-cosby-words-show-shes-trapped-in-an-outdated-space/ |access-date=April 30, 2020 |publisher=Andscape |date=May 4, 2018 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918231944/https://theundefeated.com/features/bill-camille-cosby-words-show-shes-trapped-in-an-outdated-space/ |url-status=live }} HuffPost called the statement "bizarre".{{cite news |last1=Vagianos |first1=Alanna |title=Camille Cosby Says Husband's Guilty Verdict Is 'Mob Justice' In Bizarre Statement |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/camille-cosby-mob-justice-statement_n_5aeb0950e4b00f70f0efedd1 |access-date=April 30, 2020 |newspaper=HuffPost |date=May 3, 2018 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184449/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/camille-cosby-mob-justice-statement_n_5aeb0950e4b00f70f0efedd1 |url-status=live }}

Personal life

While studying at the University of Maryland, Cosby went on a blind date during her sophomore year with Bill. Engaged shortly after they began dating, the pair married on January 25, 1964.

Following their marriage, Cosby and her husband had five children: Erika (born 1965), Erinn (born 1966), Ennis (April 15, 1969 – January 16, 1997), Ensa (April 8, 1973 – February 23, 2018),{{cite news|last1=Respers France|first1=Lisa|title=Ensa Cosby, daughter of Bill Cosby, dies at 44|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/26/entertainment/ensa-cosby-dead/index.html|publisher=CNN|date=February 26, 2018|access-date=February 27, 2018|archive-date=February 27, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227085528/https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/26/entertainment/ensa-cosby-dead/index.html|url-status=live}} and Evin (born 1976).

Ennis was murdered on January 16, 1997, at the age of 27. After his murder, Cosby wrote a letter to USA Today titled "America Taught My Son's Killer to Hate Blacks", in which she "excoriat[ed] America for teaching her son's murderer the bigotry that fueled his lethal act."{{cite book |last1=Dyson |first1=Michael Eric |title=Is Bill Cosby Right?: Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? |date=2008 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=9780786722075}} The controversial letter was not well received by pundits or the press.{{cite book |last1=Lopez |first1=Alfred J. |title=Postcolonial Whiteness: A Critical Reader on Race and Empire |date=2012 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=9780791483725 |page=79}} Authors Stephan and Abigail Thernstrom wrote that they believed Cosby's article was "misguided despair ... [that] threatens further progress" in the development of race relations in the United States.{{cite book |last1=Thernstrom |first1=Stephen |last2=Thernstrom |first2=Abigail |title=America in Black and White: One Nation, Indivisible |date=2009 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=9781439129098 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N3esfeWwFWYC&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA9 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184406/https://books.google.com/books?id=N3esfeWwFWYC&pg=PA9&dq=camille+cosby |url-status=live }}

Cosby's daughter Ensa died February 23, 2018, of renal disease while awaiting a kidney transplant at the age of 44.{{cite news |last1=Mandell |first1=Andrea |title=Bill Cosby's daughter Ensa dies at 44 from renal disease |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/26/bill-cosbys-daughter-ensa-dies-44/374075002/ |access-date=November 8, 2020 |publisher=USA Today |date=February 26, 2018 |archive-date=March 5, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200305023216/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/people/2018/02/26/bill-cosbys-daughter-ensa-dies-44/374075002/ |url-status=live }}

In 1982, Cosby joined the Reverend Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline Jackson, congressman William H. Gray III, and historian Mary Frances Berry to meet Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, where the group was pictured with the pope.{{cite journal |title=Blacks Remember Pope John Paul II |journal=Jet |date=April 25, 2005 |volume=107 |issue=17 |pages=54–55 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OL4DAAAAMBAJ&q=camille+cosby |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184408/https://books.google.com/books?id=OL4DAAAAMBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=camille+cosby |url-status=live }}

Along with Bill, Cosby was featured on the cover of Ebony's September 1966 issue.{{cite journal |journal=Ebony |title=Life With TV Award Winner Bill Cosby |date=September 1966 |volume=XXI |issue=11 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=71nrBoK-ilEC&q=camille+cosby |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184458/https://books.google.com/books?id=71nrBoK-ilEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=camille+cosby |url-status=live }} In 1996, she was named one of the "15 most beautiful Black women" by the magazine.

=Art collection=

Cosby is an avid art collector, including African-American-made quilts.{{cite book |title=The International Review of African American Art, Volume 18 |date=2001 |publisher=Museum of African American Art}} In her personal collection she has multiple works by Ellis Ruley.{{cite book |last1=Fishbone |first1=Beryl |title=Legendary Locals of Norwich |date=2014 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=9781439645888 |page=81 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3BuaAwAAQBAJ&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA81 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220172647/https://books.google.com/books?id=3BuaAwAAQBAJ&q=camille+cosby&pg=PA81 |url-status=live }} She has been the subject of multiple portraits by artist Simmie Knox.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jessie Carney |title=Black Firsts: 4,000 Ground-Breaking and Pioneering Historical Events |date=December 1, 2012 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |isbn=9781578594245 |page=58 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=93SDBwAAQBAJ&q=camille+cosby |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=November 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108184435/https://books.google.com/books?id=93SDBwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=camille+cosby |url-status=live }} In December 1981, Cosby purchased Henry Ossawa Tanner's The Thankful Poor at Sotheby's, and gave to her husband for a Christmas gift.{{cite journal |last1=Valentine |first1=Victoria |title=The Cosby Collection |journal=The Crisis |date=September 2001 |volume=108 |issue=5 |page=68 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=60IEAAAAMBAJ&q=bill+and+camille+cosby+art+collection&pg=PA68 |access-date=May 6, 2020 |archive-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220172655/https://books.google.com/books?id=60IEAAAAMBAJ&q=bill+and+camille+cosby+art+collection&pg=PA68 |url-status=live }}

Filmography

Year	Title	Credit	Notes
class="wikitable"
1986	The Cosby Show	Extra (uncredited)	Episode: "Off to the Races"
1987	Bill Cosby: 49	Director
rowspan="2" \| 1994	No Dreams Deferred	Executive producer
The American Experience	Special funding	Episode: "Malcolm X: Make It Plain"
1996	Bill Cosby: Mr. Sapolsky, with Love	Co-executive producer
1997	10th Anniversary Essence Awards	Self
1999	Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years	Executive Producer, extra (uncredited)	Television movie
rowspan="2" \| 2000	The Oprah Winfrey Show	Self	Episode: November 27, 2000
Ennis' Gift	Executive producer	Documentary film
2001	Being Bill Cosby	Self
2002	Sylvia's Path	Executive producer	Television movie
rowspan="2" \| 2004	Fatherhood	Special thanks
Fat Albert	Executive producer
2010	Queen Victoria's Wedding	Special thanks	Film short
2010–2012	OBKB	Executive producer
rowspan="3" \| 2014	Extra	rowspan="3" \| Self	Archive footage – Episode #21.55
CNN Newsroom	Archive footage – November 21, 2014 episode
OMG Insider	Archive footage – December 16, 2014 episode

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0181729}}
{{C-SPAN|47570}}

Category:1944 births

Category:Living people

Category:African-American activists

Category:American art collectors

Category:American art patrons

Category:American philanthropists

Category:American television producers

Category:Bill Cosby

Category:Patrons of schools

Category:University of Maryland, College Park alumni

Category:University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Education alumni

Category:Writers from Philadelphia

Category:Writers from Washington, D.C.