Keshia Knight Pulliam
| Keshia Knight Pulliam | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 9, 1979 Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1982–present |
| Website | |
| http://www.KeshiaKnightPulliam.me | |
Keshia Knight Pulliam (born April 9, 1979) is an American actress. She is most recognized for her childhood role as Rudy Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Currently, she appears as reformed con artist Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy-drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne.
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[edit] Personal life
Keshia Knight Pulliam was born in Newark, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Denise and James Pulliam, Sr., a manager.[1] She has 3 younger brothers.
Pulliam attended Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. After The Cosby Show ended her family moved to Virginia, where Pulliam attended the Potomac School in McLean, Virginia and Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia. She received a bachelor of arts degree in Sociology from Spelman College in 2001. Pulliam is a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority, initiated through the Eta Kappa chapter.[citation needed]
She currently resides in Atlanta, Georgia.[citation needed]
[edit] Career
Pulliam became the youngest actress ever to be nominated for an Emmy, at age six for best supporting actress. Even before that – at age 3 – she played Keshia on Sesame Street. Her character on The Cosby Show, "Rudy", was known for being the "baby" of the family. She is ranked #19 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars". In a 2008 interview, she revealed that when she read for the role of Rudy, when she was only 5, she kept looking away from the director (Jay Sandrich), who finally asked her what she was looking at. She said when pointing to a monitor, "How can you make me on the TV?" Apparently, the director thought her role would be perfect for her: smart as a whip – cute as a bug, or a goldfish.[2] Throughout the show's eight seasons, Pulliam had an on-and-off-screen chemistry with Bill Cosby, as the two shared their own friendships when not filming. She also said of her TV father and her favorite episode of The Cosby Show, "Mr. Cosby and I, we had a competition going on to see who would do a better job at lip-syncing. That was our little inside thing. I think I did a better job." She also appeared on a 1997 episode of Cosby, playing a different character. She has remained friendly with Cosby.
Pulliam won a celebrity version of Fear Factor in September 2002. She also won a celebrity version of The Weakest Link and participated in "Celebrity Mole 2: Yucatan". In 2004, she performed in Chingy's music video for "One Call Away". She was also in Tank's 2010 music video for "I Can't Make You Love Me" as his love interest. In 2005, she played "Darnelle" in Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah.
According to an interview on Real Talk with Jeanne Roberts[3] of St. Louis, Pulliam performed in Donald Gray's play The Man of Her Dreams in the fall of 2006. In 2008, she joined the cast of Tyler Perry's House of Payne as "Miranda", the new wife of Calvin Payne. The role earned her the 2009 and 2010 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
In 2009, she portrayed "Candy" in the film Madea Goes To Jail.[4]
In 2011, commenting on the fact that only white actors had won Golden Globe Awards that year, she said:
I think that there is definitely work to be done. It can always be more diverse. We live in a very multicultural and global society. More needs to be done to increase the representation of all people and really show the world for what it is. It’s not just one color.[5]
[edit] Filmography
- Madea Goes to Jail (2009) – Candace "Candy" Washington
- Cuttin' Da Mustard (2008) – Wendy
- Death Toll (2008) – Mirie
- The Gospel (2005) – Maya Walker
- Beauty Shop (2005) – Darnelle
- Motives (2004) – Letrice
- The Little Match Girl (1987) – Molly
- The Last Dragon (1985) – Sophie Green
[edit] Television
- The Cosby Show (1984–1992)
- A Different World (1987–1988)
- The Little Match Girl (1987)
- Polly (1989)
- A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court (1989)
- Polly: Comin' Home (1991)
- What About Your Friends: Weekend Getaway (2002)
- The Mole (U.S., Season 4) (2004)
- Christmas at Water's Edge (2004)
- Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–present)
- Harlem Heights (2009)
- Psych (2010)
[edit] Awards and nominations
- NAACP Image Awards 2011: Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (nominated) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
- NAACP Image Awards 2010: Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
- NAACP Image Awards 2009: Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
- NAACP Image Awards 2008: Best supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
- Emmy Awards 1984: Best Supporting Young Actress in the Comedy Series (nominated) The Cosby Show
[edit] References
- ^ "Keshia Knight Pulliam Biography (1979-)". Filmreference.com. April 9, 1979. http://www.filmreference.com/film/19/Keshia-Knight-Pulliam.html. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ "Rudy from "The Cosby Show" is all grown up | People, Celebrities, Actresses & Profiles Of Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Women In Movies, TV Shows & Music". AfterEllen.com. April 23, 2008. http://www.afterellen.com/blog/thelinster/rudy-from-the-cosby-show-plays-a-hooker. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ "RTJ EP 107 Segment 1 Keshia Knight Pulliam". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKX90GDwdFE. Retrieved March 20, 2011.
- ^ Keshia Knight Pulliam: The Madea Goes to Jail Interview with Kam Williams Kam Williams.com
- ^ A.R. Shaw (February 16, 2011). "The Evolution of Keshia Knight Pulliam". Rollingout.com. http://rollingout.com/insidecover/13306-the-evolution-of-keshia-knight-pulliam.html. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
