Actor
Ethel Ayler is a veteran African-American character actress with a career spanning over five decades.

Ayler was born in Whistler, Alabama in 1934. In 1957, she made her off-Broadway debut in the Langston Hughes musical, Simply Heavenly. Later that year, she debuted on Brodway in the multiple Tony Award-nominated musical, Jamaica as an understudy for Lena Horne (also making her Broadway debut).

Another notable early performance was in Jean Genet's play, The Blacks: A Clown Show, which ran off-Broadway for 1,408 performances and received three Obie Awards including for Best New Play. The impressive cast of black actors included three future Academy Award nominees: James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson and Louis Gossett, Jr..

Throughout her career, Ayler has appeared frequently with the Negro Ensemble Company. This includes notable performances in The First Breeze of Summer, Eden and Nevis Mountain Dew.

On television, Ayler had a recurring role as Carrie Hanks, Claire Huxtable's mother on The Cosby Show. She has also made memorable performances in the films To Sleep with Anger (1990) and Eve's Bayou (1997).

For her work in To Sleep with Anger, Ayler received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for best supporting female.

Ayler's most recent Broadway appearance was in another Tony-nominated production, The Little Foxes in 1997.

Character
Claire Huxtable's mother.