who did debbie allen play on a different world
A Different World Producer/director Debbie Allen is the real-life sister of Phylicia Rashad. Allen made one guest appearance on The Cosby Show, playing an aggressive aerobics instructor who helps Clair slim down for a special occasion. Allen appeared in later seasons in a recurring role as Whitley's psychiatrist. Dwayne and Whitley also visited the Huxtable home in an episode featuring the revelation that Denise had married and would not return to Hillman.
Virginia Williams Williams made her professional acting debut in the ABC daytime soap One Life to Live as Lorna Van Skyver, a role she played from 1995 to 1996. She also played Brandy Taylor on the CBS daytime soap As the World Turns from 2001 to 2002. With those experience in daytime soaps, she parlayed her talents into several primetime roles, including the leading role of Bianca on Lifetime's Monarch Cove, Claudia on five episodes of the hit series How I Met Your Mother, Shelley Long's daughter who was snubbed at the altar in the film Honeymoon with Mom, and two seasons on Comedy Central's Strangers with Candy. She also played the role of Caitlin McNabb who is a gold digger in the 2010 ABC Family TV movie Revenge of the Bridesmaids.