Biography - Keegan Michael Key

Keegan-Michael Key?

Keegan-Michael Key is an actor, comedian, writer as well as producer.

Keegan-Michael Key – Age, Parents, Siblings

Keegan-Michael Key’s birth took place on March 22, 1971, in Southfield, Michigan, U.S.A. Key is biracial. His father Leroy McDuffie was of African American origin while his mother Carrie Herr is of Polish, Belgian ethnicity. But his biological parents were not the ones who raised him.

At a young age, Keegan-Michael Key was adopted by an interracial couple- Michael Key and Patricia Walsh, also of  African-American and Caucasian ethnicity respectively. Both his adoptive parents worked as social workers. 

Through Keegan-Michael Key’s biological parents, he has two half-brothers. One of his half-brothers (paternal) is Dwayne McDuffie, an Eisner Award-nominated comic book writer. But sadly, both of his half-brothers passed away before all three were aware that they had half-siblings.

Education, Ethnicity

As for education, the future actor attended Shrine Catholic High School and then at the University of Detroit Mercy. He graduated from there in 1993 with a  Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theatre. He continued his education up to the Master’s level. He enrolled at the Pennsylvania State University, graduating in 1996 with a Master of Fine Arts in theatre.

His ethnicity includes Polish, Belgian, and African-American.

Keegan-Michael Key – Girlfriend, Wife, Divorce, Children

Keegan-Michael Key was in a relationship with Cynthia Blaise, a dialect coach, and married her on 27 December 1998. 

He was married to his wife for almost 20 years before they filed for divorce, which was finalized on 16 November 2017. They do not have any children together. The reasons for their divorce were kept private.

Key went on to have an affair with director Elisa Pugliese. He and Pugliese married on June 8, 2018, in New York City. The couple does not have any children together and also has not announced pregnancy as of yet.

Also read: Patton Oswalt - Comedian

Keegan-Michael Key – Career

Early Days

In 1999, Keegan-Michael Key played a minor in the film Get the Hell Out of Hamtown followed by similar roles in 2000 in Garage: A Rock Saga. After a series of guest appearances and supporting roles in mainstream movies, he finally landed a role in Mad TV. along with Jordan Peele, he joined the series in the ninth series in 2004 and also worked as a writer in the series. 

Key and Peele joined hands again for their own series Key & Peele which aired from January 31, 2012, to September 9, 2015, for a total of 5 seasons. Other TV shows he has starred in are The Planet's Funniest Animals (2005-2008), Reno 911! (2008-2009), Gary Unmarried (2009-2010), Children's Hospital (2010-2015), Playing House (2014-2017), SuperMansion (2015-present), Friends from College (2017-present), Impulse (2018-present).

Also read: Rodney Carrington - Comedian, Actor, Singer, Screenwriter 

Films, Series

Keegan-Michael Key has also acted in movies including Horrible Bosses 2 (2014), Pitch Perfect  2 (2015), Keanu (2016), and The Predator (2018) while two movies Dolemite Is My Name, All the Bright Places are in post-production phase.

Moreover, Key is a talented voice actor. Over his career span, he has lent his voice to The Lego Movie (2014), Hotel Transylvania 2, The Angry Birds Movie (2016), Storks (2016), The Star (2017), Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018), Toy Story 4 (2019), The Lion King (2019), among others.

In 2015, he appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner as  President Barack Obama's anger translator, Luther.

Co-stars

On the set of Keanu, he worked with Tiffany Haddish, Nia Long, Madison Wolfe, Jamar Malachi Neighbors, Ian Casselberry.

Philanthropy

Along with actors like Judy Greer, Max Greenfield, and Jack Black, Key has worked with the Young Storytellers Foundation, helping them to raise money in their annual fundraiser.

Also read: Whitney Cummings - Comedian, Actress, Producer 

Keegan-Michael Key – Awards, Nominations

Key has been nominated for several prestigious awards. He has been nominated for the Joseph Jefferson Award, Writers Guild of America Award (2013), American Comedy Award (2014), Primetime Emmy Award (2014, five categories in 2015, four categories in 2016), People's Choice Award (2015), NAACP Image Award (2014,2015, 2016), Screen Actors Guild Award (2015), etc.

Among all the nominations, he has won Peabody Award (2013), American Comedy Award (2014), Primetime Emmy Award (2016).

Also read: Nick Frost - Actor of Shaun of the Dead (film) 

Keegan-Michael Key – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of Key is around $12 million. His annual salary is unknown.

Keegan-Michael Key – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook

On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, Keegan-Michael Key is followed by over a million followers.

Also read: Ray Romano - Actor, Comedian, Writer