Bill Cosby's sexual-assault conviction overturned: A look at the actor through the years

Bill Cosby leaves his home alongside spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, right, Thursday, July 1, 2021 in Elkins Park, Pa.

Bill Cosby is taken away in handcuffs after he was sentenced to three to 10 years in state prison for felony sexual assault on Sept. 25, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sentencing hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Sept. 25, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sentencing hearing at the Montgomery County Courthouse, Sept. 24, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby walks out after his guilty verdict was announced at the Montgomery County Courthouse April 26, 2018 in Norristown, Pa. Cosby was found guilty on all counts after a former Temple University employee alleged the entertainer drugged and molested her in 2004 at his home in suburban Philadelphia. More than 40 women have accused the entertainer of sexual assault.

Bill Cosby arrives for the start of jury deliberations in the retrial of his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on April 25, 2018.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial April 25, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives with his wife, Camille, for his sexual assault trial, April 24, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial, April 20, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives for the 10th day of his retrial for his sexual assault retrial, April 20, 2018.

Bill Cosby watches as a protester is tackled by sheriff's officers as he arrives for the first day his second sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on April 9, 2018.

A protester demonstrates as Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 9, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

The protestor is detained.

Sonia Ossorio, center, president of the National Organization for Women of New York, leads a group in protest after Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 9, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Legal documents are wheeled into the Montgomery County Courthouse pre-dawn before the first day of the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial on April 9, 2018 in Norristown, Pa.

Kathleen Bliss, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby, center, walks back to courtroom C with spokesperson Andrew Wyatt, left, from a break during his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Montgomery County Judge Steven O'Neill walks to courtroom C before Bill Cosby arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby walks back to courtroom C after a break in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Tom Mesereau, center, lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, not shown, speaks to other legal defense members as they walk back to courtroom C after a break in the Cosby sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby, center left, is escorted during a break in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 4, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Media ready for Bill Cosby, not shown, before arriving for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint demonstrate outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa.

Protestors with Black Women's Blueprint create a mosaic while demonstrating outside the Montgomery County Courthouse during jury selection in the Bill Cosby sexual assault retrial April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby, center, arrives for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 2, 2018, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives to the first day of jury selection for his sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse on April 2, 2018 in Norristown, Pa.

Lawyer for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, Tom Mesereau, arrives for jury selection for Cosby's sexual assault retrial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on April 2, 2018.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele, right, arrives for jury selection in the sexual assault retrial for actor and comedian Bill Cosby, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on April 2, 2018.

Prosecution documents in the case against Bill Cosby are wheeled into the courtroom for a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018.

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby boards the elevator after a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018.

Actor and comedian Bill Cosby returns to the courtroom for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa. on March 30, 2018.

Bill Cosby departs after a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case on March 30, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby, 2nd from left, walks past journalists filing stories during a recess in the pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., March 29, 2018.

Bill Cosby, left, leaves the courtroom with his local attorney Lane Vines during a recess of a pretrial hearing for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on March 29, 2018.

Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case on March 29, 2018, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby departs the Montgomery County Courthouse on March 6, 2018, in Norristown, Pa. Cosby's lawyers and prosecutors will argued over the number of his accusers allowed to testify at his sexual assault retrial.

Bill Cosby leaves the Montgomery County Courthouse on June 17, 2017 in Norristown, Pa., after a mistrial was declared in his sexual assault case., 11 days after the trial began and following 52 hours of deliberations.

Bill Cosby gestures as he departs the Montgomery County Courthouse after the mistrial in his sexual assault trial, June 17, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby after a mistrial in his sexual assault case, with his lawyers Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, and his publicist Andrew Wyatt, at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa.

District Attorney Kevin Steele talks the media about the mistrial in Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial, vowing to retry the case, in Norristown, Pa., June 17, 2017.

Accuser Andrea Constant leaves the courtroom after the mistrial in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial on June 17, 2017 in Norristown, Pa. She later asked for privacy.

Dolores Troiani, civil lawyer for Andrea Constand, at the Montgomery County Courthouse after Bill Cosby's sexual assault trial ended in mistrial. Saturday, June 17, 2017, in Norristown, Pa., Troiani handled Constand's 2005 civil suit which helped bring about the criminal case a decade later.

Other Bill Cosby accusers were in the courtroom when the mistrial was declared, including (l-r) Victoria Valentino, Lili Bernard and Jewel Allison.

Bill Cosby gives a thumbs-up as he arrives for a third day of jury deliberations at his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pa. on June 14, 2017.

Bill Cosby's spokesman Andrew Wyatt, left, talks to the media outside the courthouse while jury deliberations continued inside on June 13, 2017.

Bill Cosby on Day 5 of his sexual assault trial, when prosecutors rested their case, on June 9, 2017 in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby gives a thumbs-up to supporters as he gets in his car outside the courthouse on Day 5 of his sexual assault trial, after the prosecution rested its case, on June 9, 2017 in Norristown, Pa. The defense will present its case starting June 12.

Bill Cosby arrived for his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Monday, June 5, 2017.

Camille Cosby accompanied her husband to court on June 12, 2017 in Norristown, Pa.

Photographers captured Cosby having a gleeful moment before entering the courthouse. In addition to his lawyers, bodyguards and assistants, Cosby was accompanied by Keshia Knight Pulliam, who played his daughter Rudy Huxtable on 'The Cosby Show' and has defended him for two years.

On Day 3 of the trial, former co-star Sheila Frazier and Frazier's husband John Atchison, Cosby's hairstylist, accompanied Cosby to the courthouse on June 7, 2017.

On Day 4 of the trial, Bill Cosby was accompanied by comedians Joe Torry, left, and Lewis Dix, center left, on June 8, 2017.

The Cosby defense team, Brian McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, on Day 1 of the Cosby sexual assault trial, arriving at the courthouse in Norristown, Pa., June 5, 2017.

Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kristen Feden, on the prosecution team, arrives at the courthouse on Day 2 of the Cosby trial, on June 6, 2017.

District Attorney Kevin Steele, prosecutor in the Bill Cosby sexual assault case, on Day 3 of the trial in Norristown, Pa., June 7, 2017.

Attorney Gloria Allred represents dozens of Cosby accusers, including a witness who testified at the trial that he drugged and assaulted her in 1996. Allred has been at the trial every day since Day 1, on June 5, 2017.

Some of the documents in the Cosby case are wheeled into the courtroom on Day 3 of the trial, June 7, 2017.

Journalists at work during a break in the Bill Cosby sexual assault trial on Day 5, June 9, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby's spokesperson Andrew Wyatt speaks to media during Cosby's sexual assault trial June 9, 2017, in Norristown, Pa.

Some Cosby accusers attend the trial even though they are not involved in the proceeding, including Therese Serignese, a nurse from Florida who has accused Cosby of drugging and raping her in a Las Vegas hotel around 1975. She also sued him in civil court.

Linda Kirkpatrick, who accused Cosby of assaulting her in a Las Vegas hotel in the early 1980s, attended his sexual assault trial in Norristown, Pa., on June 12, 2017.

Two other Bill Cosby accusers also are attending his trial: Lili Bernard, (L), who says Cosby drugged and raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in about 1975, and Victoria Valentino, who says Cosby drugged and raped her in 1970, outside the courtroom on Day 4 of the trial, June 8, 2017.

Cosby grips the arm of an assistant as he walks into the courthouse on June 5, 2017.

Locked out of the courthouse, media cameras gather outside to capture Bill Cosby arriving for the first day of his sexual assault trial at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., June 5, 2017.

Jury selection in Bill Cosby's sexual-assault trial began May 22, 2017 in Pittsburgh. Cosby arrives at the Allegheny County Courthouse clutching the arm of an assistant.

The Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh where jury selection took place in the Bill Cosby sex-assault trial.

Brian McMonagle, Bill Cosby's defense attorney, arrives at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, on May 22, 2017.

The man prosecuting Bill Cosby, District Attorney Kevin Steele of Montgomery County, arrives at the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh for jury selection on May 22, 2017.

Bill Cosby arrives for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., April 3, 2017.

Bill Cosby arrives with his legal team and bodyguards for a pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., April 3, 2017.

Bill Cosby arrives at courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on Nov. 1, 2016 for more hearings on sex-assault charges against him.

Surrounded by lawyers and bodyguards and security, Cosby appears to need assistance walking and carries a cane.

Bill Cosby arrives at courthouse in Norristown, Pa., for a hearing in his sexual assault case on Nov. 1, 2016.

Bill Cosby's lawyers, Angela Agrusa and Brian McMonagle, arrives at the courthouse for hearing on the sexual assault charges against Cosby, on Nov. 1, 2016.

Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred arrives for a Bill Cosby pre-trial hearing in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby arrives for another pretrial hearing in his sexual assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Sept. 6, 2016.

Bill Cosby seems to be in a good mood, laughing as he arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for another hearing on the aggravated indecent assault charges against him, on Sept. 6, 2016.

Bill Cosby uses a cane and assistance inside the Montgomery County Courthouse as he arrives for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 6, 2016.

Why is this man smiling? Bill Cosby arrives for the latest hearing in his criminal sex-assault case, at the courthouse in Norristown, Pa., Thursday, July 7, 2016.

Bill Cosby gestures as he arrives outside the courthouse in Norristown, Pa., on July 7, surrounded by scores of reporters and media cameras.

Accompanied by lawyers and bodyguards, Bill Cosby arrives for the latest pretrial hearing in his criminal sex-assault case at the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, Pa., July 7, 2016. Cosby was appealing a decision to send the case to trial before his lawyers can question the accuser under oath.

Bill Cosby waves as he arrives at the Montgomery County Courthouse for his first preliminary hearing on aggravated indecent sexual assault charges, May 24, 2016, in Norristown, Pa.

Cosby was accused of drugging and molesting Andrea Constand, a former Temple University employee now living in Canada. Constand, here in December 2015, did not testify in person at the preliminary hearing for Cosby on May 24, 2016.

Brian McMonagle, a Philadelphia lawyer, represented Cosby at his preliminary hearing on May 24, 2016.

Lawyers for Bill Cosby, including Monique Pressley, arrive at the Montgomery County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby looked less frail when he arrived for his preliminary hearing in Norristown, Pa., than he did for an earlier hearing in February.

Bill Cosby grasps the arm of a bodyguard as he arrives for his preliminary hearing at Montgomery County Courthouse on May 24, 2016 in Norristown, Pa.

Bill Cosby enters the Montgomery County (Pa.) Courthouse on Feb. 3 for a hearing on charges stemming from an alleged sexual assault in 2004 in suburban Philadelphia.

Starting in the fall of 2014, comedian Bill Cosby has been accused by about 60 women of drugging and sexually assaulting them in episodes dating as far back as the 1960s. On Dec. 30, 2015, he was officially charged in Norristown, Pa., for an alleged assault in 2004.

Cosby arrives for the second day of the hearing flocked by aides.

Here Cosby arrives to the Montgomery County courthouse for the first day of the hearing.

Cosby arrives on Dec. 30, 2015, to the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. to face charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby was arraigned over an incident that took place in 2004 — the first criminal charge filed against the actor after dozens of women claimed abuse

Bill Cosby walks past the press upon arrival for his arraignment in Elkins Park, Pa, after getting charged Wednesday with drugging and sexually assaulting a woman at his home 12 years prior.

Bill Cosby leaves the Court House in Elkins Park, Pa. after a 10 minute arraignment on charges of aggravated indecent assault. Cosby pleaded not guilty, posted $1 million bail and turned over his passport as a condition for being released on bail.

FILE - In this Nov. 6, 2014, file photo, entertainer Bill Cosby gestures during an interview at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art in Washington. Kristina Ruehli on Monday, Nov. 9, 2015, filed a federal lawsuit saying Cosby falsely accused her of lying when she came forward last year and said he raped her in 1965. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File) ORG XMIT: NY140

Bill Cosby reacts to a reporter's question while attending a 50th wedding anniversary party for actors Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis at a New York hotel Tuesday, Dec. 15, 1998. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan) ORG XMIT: NYR129

"The evidence is strong and sufficient enough to proceed with the charges," Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said at a press conference. The decision by his boss, new District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman, reverses a decision by her predecessor who had ruled that there was not enough evidence to warrant an arrest.

Cosby made his acting debut in 1965 as Alexander Scott in adventure-espionage series 'I-Spy.' The show marked the first time a Black performer starred in a regular, prime-time U.S. drama.

Cosby created 'Little Bill,' which premiered in 1999 on Nickelodeon.

Cosby showed how innocent children are with 'Kids Say the Darndest Things,' which first aired in 1998.

Cosby stands with his wife and Nelson Mandela in 1997.

Oprah Winfrey massages Cosby on her show. The comedian wears a "Hello, Friend" shirt. That's the name of foundation established after Cosby's son, Ennis, died.

Ennis Cosby was shot in 1997. Here, Bill Cosby sits with his son at a Knicks game in 1994.

Bill Cosby holds up a portrait of Ennis before the taping an episode of 'Cosby' after his son's murder.

Cosby continued doing comedy into old age. Here, he performs at SXSW in March 2014.

LAS VEGAS, NV - SEPTEMBER 26: Comedian/actor Bill Cosby performs at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino on September 26, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 514544333 ORIG FILE ID: 456168268

Entertainer and Navy veteran Bill Cosby speaks during a Veterans Day ceremony, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014, at the The All Wars Memorial to Colored Soldiers and Sailors in Philadelphia. Cosby told the crowd during a 20-minute address that ìwe donít forget about ours,î as he spoke about the importance of the memorial along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.(AP Photo/Matt Rourke) ORG XMIT: PX102