Camille Cosby

Camille Olivia Cosby ( 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. Hanks and grew up in Norbeck, Maryland, just outside Washington. She is the oldest of four children. 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. Cosby attended private Catholic schools. First, she attended St. Cyprian's, followed by St. Cecilia's Academy. 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." After high school, Cosby studied psychology at the University of Maryland, where she met Bill Cosby. In June 1987, Johnnetta Cole of Howard University in Washington, D.C., presented Cosby with a Doctor of Humane Letters, an honorary doctoral degree.