Erika Cosby, a renowned artist, is best recognized as the child of the American comedian Bill Cosby and TV Producer Camille Cosby.
Born into celebrity, Erika has frequently graced the public’s glance. Despite that, she has successfully gained attention through her talent in Arts and Painting.
Since her parents are in different fields of occupation than her, how did she develop her passion for Art? Here, we are going to discuss her career, how she got into Painting, her bio, and more.
Quick Details on Erika Cosby
| Full Name | Erika Ranee Cosby |
| Age | 58 years old |
| Date of Birth | April 8th 1965 |
| Nationality | American |
| Parents | Camille Olivia Cosby, Bill Cosby |
| Profession | Painter, Professor at NYU |
| Siblings | 4 |
| Marital Status | Unmarried |
Erika Cosby Bio; Her Age and Childhood
Her full name is Erika Ranee Cosby. She arrived into the world on April 8, 1965, in Los Angeles, California. Among the Cosby brood of five, she is the eldest. Interestingly, all Cosby children possess names beginning with ‘E’.because it stands for ‘Excellence’.
Due to growing up in the spotlight, the artist often traveled around the world from a young age with her father because of his work. Her first trip was to Japan with her family, she was four months old then. Similarly, she got to pose with her folks for the cover of Ebony Magazine at just 16 months of her life in the year 1966.
Hence, her childhood was extraordinary even though her mom and dad tried their best to raise their children in a traditional lifestyle.
She was raised in the rural area of Massachusetts and she used to go to long walks with her dog after school. The painter enjoyed drawing since she was young while her dear grand-mom taught her to knit and sew.
Erika Ranee’s School and Education
The high school she went to is unknown but Cosby earned her undergraduate degree in Arts from Wesleyan University in 1987. In ’89, she finished her studies at the School of Visual Arts in New York and earned a Fine Arts bachelor’s degree.
She didn’t stop there. Two years later, she completed a Masters Degree in Fine Arts from the University of California, Berkeley..
On top of that, she spent nine summer weeks at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. As the eldest, her siblings looked up to her.
Her two siblings are dead; one of them was murdered
Her four siblings are Erinn Cosby, 56, Ennis Cosby, Ensa Cosby, and the youngest Evin Harrah Cosby, 45. Unfortunately, Evin and Erinn are her only alive siblings.
Ennis’ Murder
Her only brother, Ennis William Cosby, met a tragic fate. On January 16th, 1997, robber Mikhail Markhasev shot him in the head near Interstate 405, LA, California.
Meanwhile, National Enquirer had set a reward of $100,00 for whoever helped to catch the murderer and after a couple of months, a known contact of Mikhail gave away info about his hideout, which eventually got him arrested in March 1997. Following the events, on July 1998, he was charged with first-degree murder resulting in life imprisonment but he admitted to his crimes only in 2001.
Ensa’s death
As if having to bear the loss of one family member wasn’t hard enough, the Cosbys had to suffer the passing of another family member Erika’s sister Ensa. She was an actress and tragically passed away at the age of 45 due to renal disease. Ensa had health issues ahead, requiring a kidney transplant but she died before it on February 23rd, 2018.
Ranee and her family have endured multiple tragedies over the decades but they are holding up through each other’s support and their well-wishers.
Cosby was a government major previously so how did she get into Painting?
The artist had always been surrounded by art growing up so it is one of the major reasons she grew up liking it.
She mentioned in an interview that her aunt used to do macramé so it influenced her in a way.
“My Aunt was an early unwitting mentor. . She was always making things and I remember as a kid making my first drawings after watching her make drawings, although her focus was more on craft projects. We made a lot of macramé and I taught myself how to sew on the machine.”
As a child, Cosby wanted to be a botanist, ornithologist, or entomologist because she liked admiring insects and preserving their color, especially amber. Her enthusiasm for preserving things at a young age certainly influenced her habits to become an artist as an adult.
In college, her major was government but while attending Wesleyan University she flew to Paris and took classes at Parsons Paris, an Art School. Although she did not have adequate experience in painting, she learned a lot with the help of her professors and colleagues.
After that, she moved to New York City and registered for classes at the School of Visual Arts where she gained further knowledge about becoming an Artist.
Her Career as a Painter
Erika used to be a recipient at the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Fellowship in Painted. She has also been a residence in a lot of programs in New York as an artist throughout her career; Artist in Market Place Program (AIM), Bronx Museum in 1995, Cooper Union Residency in 2006, AIRSpace, Abrons Arts Center, Studio Residency in 2009, and Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation, The Space Program in 2011.
Additionally, she started her career as an art professor at New York University in 2012.
As per sources, she is widely acknowledged for her work and is an accomplished person in her field. Late curator David Driskell described her as one of those artists who have a talent for abstract paintings;
“concentrates on image perception, especially the media’s debasing stereotypes that alter the realistic qualities of people through negative representation… Through the use of satire, metaphor, and allegory, her work examines the intent and the effect of these distorted images on African American culture.”
Over the decades, her work is featured in numerous reputed galleries like SALTWORKS Contemporary Art, Slate Gallery, Arlington Arts Center, The Last Brucennial, and so on.
What is her Net Worth and Where is she now?
Her Net Worth is estimated to be around $5 million. Also, she is living in New York, where her career took off.
Is Erika married? Her Past Relationships and Affairs
No, Cosby is unmarried as of now. She is open about her profession but prefers her love life to stand behind the curtains. However, recently she shared a photo on her Instagram account from 40 years ago with her ex-boyfriend Sean.
She is reminiscing about her youth and ex-lovers in the post. Besides the photo, she has never talked about her affairs or boyfriends.
