For more than 50 years, Bill Cosby was one of America’s leading entertainers — a standup comedian who became a television star and was once known as “America’s Dad.”
However, his reputation has been tarnished in recent years by allegations of rape and sexual assault — allegations he has repeatedly denied.
In 2018, Cosby was convicted of aggravated indecent assault and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in a state prison. He was released from prison in 2021 after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned the conviction, stating his due process rights were violated.
This stunning decision reversed the first high-profile celebrity criminal trial of the #MeToo era, raising significant questions about the judicial process.
Moreover, in early December 2022, five women filed a lawsuit against Cosby in New York state court, accusing him of sexual assault and abuse dating back decades. In addition, at least two other lawsuits have surfaced since then, one in New York and one in California, filed by other women alleging sexual assault by Cosby. Cosby’s press representative has denied these serious allegations.
Cosby feeds one of his children circa 1965. Cosby first made his name with his comedic storytelling, which were often based on his own childhood experiences. Archive Photos/Getty Images Cosby won three Emmys for his portrayal of Alexander Scott, an Oxford-educated spy who travels undercover with his tennis-playing partner, Kelly Robinson (Robert Culp) in “I Spy,” which aired on NBC from 1965 to 1968. Cosby was the first African American to star in an American dramatic series. Ivan Nagy/TV Guide/Everett Collection Cosby and fellow comedian Phyllis Diller attend a Hollywood party in the 1960s. Murray Garrett/Getty Images Cosby shaves while in Las Vegas for a performance in February 1968. Michael Rougier/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock Chairs have Cosby’s face on them at a press conference in Las Vegas in February 1968. Michael Rougier/The LIFE Picture Collection/Shutterstock Cosby, third from right, is among protesters taking part in the Poor People’s March on Washington in June 1968. The Poor People’s Campaign was organized by Martin Luther King Jr. to gain economic justice for poor people in the United States. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Cosby makes a funny face during a TV special that aired in 1969.
Fred Sabine/NBC/Getty Images
Cosby and Dick Cavett pose with Primetime Emmy Awards they won in June 1970. Cosby won the Emmy for his special that aired in 1969. Cosby talks with children at the United Nations in New York, where he was taping an international Christmas message in 1970. Bettmann Archive/Getty Images Cosby sits with music legend Ray Charles during “The Midnight Special” program that aired in March 1973. Fred Sabine/NBC/Getty Images Cosby stars with Sidney Poitier in the 1975 film “Let’s Do It Again.” Michael Ochs Archives/Moviepix/Getty Images Cosby stars in the short-lived sketch comedy series “Cos” in 1976. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images Cosby’s biggest TV hit, “The Cosby Show,” premiered in 1984. Cosby starred as Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable, and the sitcom focused on Huxtable and his family. It was the No. 1 show on television for several seasons.
NBC/Everett Collection
Cosby races Olympic champion Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1989. Getty Images Cosby surfs the internet with 9-year-old Kenny Rowell as he visited a school in Boston with US Sen. Ted Kennedy in 1997. Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe/Getty Images Cosby performs a standup routine in 2000. Mark Downey/Corbis Entertainment/Getty Images Cosby sits with baseball great Hank Aaron after they both received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. The medal is America’s highest civilian award. Shawn Thew/AFP/Getty Images Cosby appears on the set of the film “Fat Albert” with actor Kenan Thompson, center, and director Joel Zwick in 2004. The movie was the live-action version of “Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids,” a Saturday morning cartoon series that Cosby created in 1972 and ran for more than a decade. 20th Century Fox/Everett Collection Students listen to Cosby after one of his town-hall forums in Milwaukee in August 2005. During his forums, Cosby talked to students and parents about taking responsibility for their actions. Kack Orton/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel/AP Cosby talks to Hurricane Katrina refugees in Houston in September 2005. His shirt reads “Hello, friend” — a tribute to his late son, Ennis, who used that as a regular greeting. Carlos Antonio Rios/Houston Chronicle/AP Cosby speaks with Tim Russert during a taping of “Meet the Press” in 2007. Cosby and Alvin Poussaint discussed important social issues.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
Cosby is recognized as an honorary chief petty officer by US Navy leaders in Washington in February 2011. Jacquelyn Martin/AP Cosby appears at the commencement ceremony for Temple University, his alma mater in Philadelphia, in May 2011. Matt Rourke/AP Cosby performs in Melbourne, Florida, in November 2014. Gerardo Mora/Getty Images A worker cleans actor Cosby’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame after someone vandalized it in December 2014. This was after some of the allegations against Cosby had come to light. Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images Cosby leaves a courthouse in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after he was arraigned on charges of aggravated indecent assault in December 2015. Cosby was accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand at his home in 2004. Kena Betancur/AFP/Getty Images In September 2018, Cosby was convicted and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison.
Cosby walks through the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection for his sexual assault retrial in Norristown, Pennsylvania, in April 2018. His first trial ended in a mistrial after a Pennsylvania jury of seven men and five women were unable to come to a unanimous decision. Mark Makela/Getty Images
In September 2018, Cosby was convicted and sentenced to 3 to 10 years in state prison.
Montgomery County Correctional Facility/Getty Images
Cosby and members of his team speak to the media outside his home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after his conviction was overturned and he was released from prison in June 2021. Matt Rourke/AP
