Camille Cosby

Camille Cosby (born Camille Olivia Hanks; March 20, 1944) is an American television producer, author, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her.

Early life

Camille was born Camille Olivia Hanks on March 20, 1944, in Washington D.C., to Guy A. Hanks, Sr. and Catherine C. Hanks (b. 1922). She grew up in Norbeck, Maryland, just outside Washington. She is the oldest of four children and a descendant of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of United States President Abraham Lincoln. Cosby's father was a chemist at Walter Reed General Hospital and her mother worked at a nursery. Both of Cosby's parents had college educations, with her father earning a graduate degree from Fisk University and her mother earning an undergraduate degree from Howard University.

Following high school, Cosby studied psychology at the University of Maryland. While a student there, she went on a blind date during her sophomore year with 26-year-old Bill Cosby, seven years her senior. Engaged shortly after they started dating, the pair married on January 25, 1964.