| Years |
Age |
Events |
| 1937 |
0 |
Born on July 12 in Philly to Anna (a maid) and William Sr. (a Navy sailor). |
| 1947 |
10 |
Around age 10, starts clowning around in school—teachers aren’t thrilled. |
| 1956 |
19 |
Drops out of high school after 10th grade and joins the Navy. |
| 1960 |
23 |
Earns his high school diploma through Navy correspondence courses. |
| 1961 |
24 |
Gets a track-and-field scholarship to Temple University, studies physical education. |
| 1962 |
25 |
Starts bartending in Philly, cracks jokes for tips, and dips his toes into stand-up. |
| 1963 |
26 |
Drops out of Temple to chase comedy full-time; releases first album, Bill Cosby Is a Very Funny Fellow…Right! |
| 1964 |
27 |
Marries Camille Hanks on January 25; wins his first Grammy for I Started Out as a Child. |
| 1965 |
28 |
Daughter Erika born; lands big break on I Spy—first Black co-star on a network drama. |
| 1966 |
29 |
Wins first Emmy for I Spy; daughter Erinn born. |
| 1967 |
30 |
Snags second Emmy for I Spy. |
| 1968 |
31 |
Grabs third Emmy for I Spy; I Spy ends its run. |
| 1969 |
32 |
Son Ennis born; The Bill Cosby Show sitcom kicks off (runs ‘til 1971). |
| 1971 |
34 |
Goes back to school at UMass Amherst on “life experience” credit from Temple; Fat Albert special airs. |
| 1972 |
35 |
Gets his MA from UMass; Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids cartoon starts airing. |
| 1973 |
36 |
Daughter Ensa born. |
| 1974 |
37 |
Stars in Uptown Saturday Night with Sidney Poitier; keeps dropping comedy albums. |
| 1976 |
39 |
Daughter Evin born; earns his Ed.D. from UMass with a dissertation on Fat Albert. |
| 1977 |
40 |
Stars in A Piece of the Action; Fat Albert keeps rolling strong. |
| 1984 |
47 |
The Cosby Show premieres on NBC—boom, instant hit, runs ‘til 1992. |
| 1986 |
49 |
Writes bestseller Fatherhood; gets Kennedy Center Honors. |
| 1987 |
50 |
Leonard Part 6 flops at the box office—he later calls it a dud himself. |
| 1990 |
53 |
Stars in Ghost Dad—another movie that doesn’t quite land. |
| 1992 |
55 |
The Cosby Show wraps up after dominating TV ratings for years. |
| 1997 |
60 |
Son Ennis murdered on January 16 while fixing a flat tire in LA—huge blow to the family. |
| 1998 |
61 |
Receives Kennedy Center Honors for lifetime achievement (rescinded in 2018). |
| 2002 |
65 |
Gets the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. |
| 2004 |
67 |
Gives the “Pound Cake” speech at an NAACP event—stirs up debate about Black parenting. |
| 2005 |
68 |
Andrea Constand alleges sexual assault from 2004; settles civil suit out of court in 2006. |
| 2013 |
76 |
Does his first stand-up special in ages, Far From Finished, on Comedy Central. |
| 2014 |
77 |
Sexual assault allegations explode after Hannibal Buress’s viral comedy bit; career takes a hit. |
| 2015 |
78 |
Charged with felony aggravated indecent assault over the Constand case on December 30. |
| 2016 |
79 |
Goes legally blind from keratoconus; lots of awards start getting yanked. |
| 2017 |
80 |
First trial for Constand assault ends in a mistrial on June 17. |
| 2018 |
81 |
Found guilty of sexual assault on April 26; sentenced to 3-10 years in prison on September 25; daughter Ensa dies of renal disease on February 23. |
| 2021 |
84 |
Released from prison on June 30 after Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacates conviction over due process issues. |
| 2022 |
85 |
Found civilly liable for assaulting Judy Huth in 1975; ordered to pay $500,000 on June 21. |
| 2025 |
88 |
Keeping a low profile with Camille in Shelburne, Massachusetts. |
