When Phylicia and Ahmad Rashad’s daughter Condola Rashad learned that a character on “Insecure” shared her name, she thought it was just a coincidence. But she later found out that wasn’t the case.
Condola Hayes, played by Christina Elmore on the show, made her first appearance in season three. The character began a romance with Lawrence, portrayed by Jay Ellis, and they’re still going strong.
Condola Rashad said she found out that her name was used after hearing Issa Rae talk about it on Instagram in early May.
“I had known that this character existed and I think sometimes it just takes me a while to put things together,” Condola Rashad said around the 16:43 mark of an interview with Essence that took place on Monday, May 11. Her mother was also present.
“I just thought, ‘Oh, they really must love the name, so cool,’ ” she added. “It’s my paternal grandmother’s name … I didn’t think there was any actual, like, personal connection. I just thought they liked the name … I was really moved by that. I thought that was so cool. I kind of had a fangirl geek-out moment.”
Rae explained the showrunner Prentice Penny had a fondness for Phylicia Rashad when she played Clair Huxtable on “The Cosby Show” many years ago, which led to the name Elmore’s character received.
“Prentice was sharing a story about how when he was younger and he was kind of dating with intention, it was all about how to find his Clair Huxtable, because, you know, he’s old as f–k,” said Rae. “So it was just like, ‘Oh, I’m trying to find my Clair Huxtable; that’s what I’m looking for in a woman.’”
She added, “and so we started thinking about Lawrence as he starts to date with intention … And who would he be looking for? So I think the natural thought process was Phylicia Rashad, someone his age … He would be looking for his Condola Rashad.”
The real Condola Rashad made a name for herself on the acting stage in plays like “Ruined,” and received Tony Award nominations after being in Broadway plays “Stick Fly,” “The Trip to Bountiful” and “A Doll’s House, Part 2.”
She now plays in “Billions” on Showtime as the character Kate Sacke. But the multi-talented artist started off as a singer and released two songs from her debut EP “Space Daughter” in April.
