Actress, writer, producer, dancer, singer T'Keyah Crystal Keyman is a quiet storm. She is best known for her ubiquitous work on the Emmy Award winning comedy, In Living Color where she won many fans with stunning impressions and an unending stream of original characters. During her five seasons on In Living Color, Keymah earned an NAACP Image Award Nomination and a Soul Train Comedy Award Nomination. Keymah then played Scotti Decker, the sexy, general contractor on the ABC comedy, On Our Own, and Denise Everett, an earthy comedy writer, on Fox's The Show. She also guest starred on The John Larroquette Show, The Commish, Quantum Leap and Roc Live. Keymah gained a whole new set of fans and another two NAACP Image Award nominations as Bill Cosby's newest TV daughter, the flight attendant turned attorney turned aspiring chef turned wife and teacher Erica Lucas, on CBS' COSBY.
She had fun with the character and learned a great deal from one of her first inspirations, Bill Cosby. Today, Keymah stars as Tanya Baxter along with cast members, Rondell Sheridan, Orlando Brown, Kyle Massey and Raven on Disney Channel's new comedy series, That's So Raven. The series stars Raven, an eccentric and offbeat teenager who has the ability to foresee flashes of the future, albeit inaccurately at times which sends mother, Tanya and other family members on a psychic roller coaster of comedic turmoil.
From the age of three, Keymah entertained her family; singing, dancing and reciting original poems and stories. She wrote her first play and her first song in elementary school. In high school, she performed with the Mary Wong Comedy Group, and produced and directed theatrical variety shows! Florida A & M University's School of Business and Industry recruited the National Merit Scholar. On scholarship, Keymah excelled in their Leadership program. The university has since given her their second highest honor, 'The Meritorious Award', and she is listed among the 100 most influential FAMUans of the Century.
During and after college, she taught theater, dance, and pantomime. Keymah even served as an elementary substitute teacher by day, while working in many of Chicago's renowned theaters such as the Court, ETA and The Goodman (where she returned last spring to play Beneatha in Chuck Smith's production of A Raisin in the Sun). She also performed with companies such as Wavelength, Chocolate Chips, and Light Opera Works, sang with Rafo International Combo and danced with the Bill Cody Dancers and the Najwa (West African) Dance Corps (with whom she currently appears as a guest artist).
Keymah's theater performances include Love Letters (with David Alan Grier) and The Five Heartbeats Live (for which she received a NAACP Theater Award nomination).The critically acclaimed show garnered her NAACP Theater Awards for Best Actress and Best Play and an AUDELCO nomination for Best Solo Performance. Through a collaboration between The Eugene O. Neill Playwright Center and the Moscow Ministry of Culture, T'Keyah was part of a select group sent to Russia to workshop and perform in John Henry Redwood's drama, The Old Settler. Her new show, T'Keyah Live! ... Mostly: A True Variety Show, featuring actress Margaret Kemp, debuted at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival to rave reviews and is gearing up for a national tour. Her film work includes Rusty Cundieff's Tales From the Hood, Quentin Tarantino's, Jackie Brown and Booker T. Mattison's The Gilded Six Bit.
Keymah's theater performances include Love Letters (with David Alan Grier) and The Five Heartbeats Live (for which she received a NAACP Theater Award nomination). Her critically acclaimed one-woman show, SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS: A Collection of Characters toured the country with Keymah playing eleven characters. This critically acclaimed show garnered her NAACP Theater Awards for Best Actress and Best Play and an AUDELCO nomination for Best Solo Performance. She has performed as a singer in plays and at various venues in Chicago, Los Angeles and Senegal, West Africa. Through a collaboration between The Eugene O'Neill Playwright Center and the Moscow Ministry of Culture, T'Keyah was selected as part of a group sent to Russia to workshop and perform in John Henry Redwood's drama, The Old Settler. Her lastest show, T'Keyah Live! 'Mostly: A True Variety Show, debuted at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival to rave reviews and began touring last year. Her film work includes Rusty Cundieff's Tales From the Hood, Quentin Tarantino's, Jackie Brown and Booker T. Mattison's The Gilded Six Bits. Keym'h has done voiceover guest spots on HBO's Happily Ever After, and WB's Hysteria, Pinky & the Brain and Batman Beyond. She created three of the voices for the Fox special Cool Like That over a dozen for WB's Waynehead and the voice of Tweety's newest pal, Aoogah, in Warner Brothers' video feature, Tweety's High Flying Adventure.
Keymah has also taken on the challenge of producing films! With actor, writer and director Bobby Mardis, she starred in and executive produced the award winning romantic thriller, One Last Time. For Showtime, the two also produced the acclaimed short subject, Circle of Pain, starring Todd Bridges and Glynn Turman which won 2nd place at the Charleston Worldfest International Film Festival and 3rd place at Temecula Valley International Film Festival. Keymah is now developing a romantic comedy that she will star in and produce through her own company, In Black World Inc. Undaunted by neither the scarcity of opportunity nor the negative images sometimes generated by mainstream Hollywood, she feels that it is imperative to avoid complacency and to "carve your own road." She feels that she has been very fortunate so far, but plans to push her luck!
T'Keyah Crystal Keymah enriches her life with charitable work and writing. Through her 2001 T'Keyah Live! tour, Keymah raised funds for the relief of our recent national tragedy. A member of Delta Sigma Theta, Public Service Sorority, Inc., she also works with the NABSIO prison outreach program and Color Me Bright Youth Foundation. Keymah is currently working on a screenplay and completed her new book on natural hairstyles, Natural Woman / Natural Hair. She has co-hosted the National ACT-SO Awards, and the Orange Bowl and Aloha Parades. She enjoys public speaking and directing workshops, especially for youth audiences, and tempers her schedule with a vegan diet, gardening, reading, daily exercise, meditation and prayer.
From the age of three, Keymah entertained her family; singing, dancing and reciting original poems and stories. She wrote her first play and her first song in elementary school. In high school, she performed with the Mary Wong Comedy Group, and produced and directed theatrical variety shows! Florida A & M University's School of Business and Industry recruited the National Merit Scholar. On scholarship, Keymah excelled in their Leadership program. The university has since given her their second highest honor, 'The Meritorious Award', and she is listed among the 100 most influential FAMUans of the Century.
During and after college, she taught theater, dance, and pantomime. Keymah even served as an elementary substitute teacher by day, while working in many of Chicago's renowned theaters such as the Court, ETA and The Goodman (where she returned last spring to play Beneatha in Chuck Smith's production of A Raisin in the Sun). She also performed with companies such as Wavelength, Chocolate Chips, and Light Opera Works, sang with Rafo International Combo and danced with the Bill Cody Dancers and the Najwa (West African) Dance Corps (with whom she currently appears as a guest artist).
Keymah's theater performances include Love Letters (with David Alan Grier) and The Five Heartbeats Live (for which she received a NAACP Theater Award nomination).The critically acclaimed show garnered her NAACP Theater Awards for Best Actress and Best Play and an AUDELCO nomination for Best Solo Performance. Through a collaboration between The Eugene O. Neill Playwright Center and the Moscow Ministry of Culture, T'Keyah was part of a select group sent to Russia to workshop and perform in John Henry Redwood's drama, The Old Settler. Her new show, T'Keyah Live! ... Mostly: A True Variety Show, featuring actress Margaret Kemp, debuted at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival to rave reviews and is gearing up for a national tour. Her film work includes Rusty Cundieff's Tales From the Hood, Quentin Tarantino's, Jackie Brown and Booker T. Mattison's The Gilded Six Bit.
Keymah's theater performances include Love Letters (with David Alan Grier) and The Five Heartbeats Live (for which she received a NAACP Theater Award nomination). Her critically acclaimed one-woman show, SOME OF MY BEST FRIENDS: A Collection of Characters toured the country with Keymah playing eleven characters. This critically acclaimed show garnered her NAACP Theater Awards for Best Actress and Best Play and an AUDELCO nomination for Best Solo Performance. She has performed as a singer in plays and at various venues in Chicago, Los Angeles and Senegal, West Africa. Through a collaboration between The Eugene O'Neill Playwright Center and the Moscow Ministry of Culture, T'Keyah was selected as part of a group sent to Russia to workshop and perform in John Henry Redwood's drama, The Old Settler. Her lastest show, T'Keyah Live! 'Mostly: A True Variety Show, debuted at the 1999 National Black Theatre Festival to rave reviews and began touring last year. Her film work includes Rusty Cundieff's Tales From the Hood, Quentin Tarantino's, Jackie Brown and Booker T. Mattison's The Gilded Six Bits. Keym'h has done voiceover guest spots on HBO's Happily Ever After, and WB's Hysteria, Pinky & the Brain and Batman Beyond. She created three of the voices for the Fox special Cool Like That over a dozen for WB's Waynehead and the voice of Tweety's newest pal, Aoogah, in Warner Brothers' video feature, Tweety's High Flying Adventure.
Keymah has also taken on the challenge of producing films! With actor, writer and director Bobby Mardis, she starred in and executive produced the award winning romantic thriller, One Last Time. For Showtime, the two also produced the acclaimed short subject, Circle of Pain, starring Todd Bridges and Glynn Turman which won 2nd place at the Charleston Worldfest International Film Festival and 3rd place at Temecula Valley International Film Festival. Keymah is now developing a romantic comedy that she will star in and produce through her own company, In Black World Inc. Undaunted by neither the scarcity of opportunity nor the negative images sometimes generated by mainstream Hollywood, she feels that it is imperative to avoid complacency and to "carve your own road." She feels that she has been very fortunate so far, but plans to push her luck!
T'Keyah Crystal Keymah enriches her life with charitable work and writing. Through her 2001 T'Keyah Live! tour, Keymah raised funds for the relief of our recent national tragedy. A member of Delta Sigma Theta, Public Service Sorority, Inc., she also works with the NABSIO prison outreach program and Color Me Bright Youth Foundation. Keymah is currently working on a screenplay and completed her new book on natural hairstyles, Natural Woman / Natural Hair. She has co-hosted the National ACT-SO Awards, and the Orange Bowl and Aloha Parades. She enjoys public speaking and directing workshops, especially for youth audiences, and tempers her schedule with a vegan diet, gardening, reading, daily exercise, meditation and prayer.
Below are pictures of Miss Keymah
Here is a comedy reel of Miss Keymah..you can see an awesome timeline of her hair growth!!!
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