Sondra Huxtable

Sondra Huxtable did not appear in the pilot episode of the show.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6/page/298 298] |quote=sondra Huxtable skin. |title=Cosby: His Life and Times|first=Mark|last=Whitaker |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York City|date=September 16, 2014 |isbn=9781451697971 |accessdate=September 5, 2015}} Sondra was created when Bill Cosby wanted the show to express the accomplishment of successfully raising a child (e.g. a college graduate).{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6 |url-access=registration |page=[https://archive.org/details/cosbyhislifetime0000whit_p0e6/page/326 326] |quote=sondra Huxtable princeton. |title=Cosby: His Life and Times – Mark Whitaker |via=Internet Archive |publisher=Simon and Schuster |date=September 16, 2014 |isbn=9781451697971 |accessdate=2015-09-05}} Sabrina LeBeauf almost missed out on the role because she is only 10 years younger (b. 1958) than Phylicia Rashad (b. 1948), who played her mother in the series.{{citation needed|date=March 2020}} Whitney Houston was in the running to be Sondra Huxtable.{{Cite web|url=https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/09/15-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-cosby-show/|title=15 Things You Didn't Know About "The Cosby Show"|website=Complex}}{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/cosby-show-turns-30-30-things-show/story?id=25605293|title='The Cosby Show' Turns 30: 30 Things You May Not Have Known About the Show|website=ABC News}}

Sondra is introduced partway through Season 1 as the eldest of Cliff and Clair's five children, a sophomore studying pre-law at Princeton University. During Season 2, she meets and begins to date Elvin Tibideaux (Geoffrey Owens), a pre-med student and fellow Princeton sophomore. Elvin irritates Cliff and Clair at first, but they eventually warm up to him and give their blessing to the couple's engagement near the end of Season 3. By the start of Season 4, Sondra and Elvin are married and have completed their undergraduate studies, but shock Cliff and Clair with their plans to open a wilderness supply store rather than continue on to law and medical school. Sondra gives birth to twins in Season 5, a boy and girl that she and Elvin name Nelson and Winnie. Elvin announces that he will attend medical school while Sondra raises the babies, then trade places with her so she can attend law school.

The character had been criticized for being too light skinned and not resembling the other cast members.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eu_3jQcKpAoC&q=sondra+Huxtable+skin&pg=PA182 |title=African American Viewers and the Black Situation Comedy: Situating Racial Humor – Robin R. Means Coleman |isbn=9780815331254 |accessdate=2015-09-05|last1=Means Coleman |first1=Robin R. |year=1998 |publisher=Taylor & Francis }}

{{Reflist}}

{{The Cosby Show}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huxtable, Sondra}}

Category:Television characters introduced in 1984

Category:African-American characters in television

Category:The Cosby Show characters

Category:Fictional characters from Brooklyn

Category:American female characters in sitcoms

{{comedy-tv-char-stub}}

{{Tv-char-stub}}