Years active: 1980 - present (44 years in the business)
Tattoos: None
Instagram follower count: 2.2m (as of December 2024)
About Keisha Knight Pulliam
Keshia Knight Pulliam (born April 9, 1979) is an American actress. She is most recognized for her childhood role as Heathcliff Huxtable's youngest daughter Rudy Huxtable on the 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.
Keshia Pulliam was born in Newark, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Denise and James Pulliam Sr, a manager. She has a younger brother.
Pulliam attended Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. After The Cosby Show ended her family moved to Virginia. Pulliam attended the Potomac School (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 Inc., initiated through the Eta Kappa chapter.
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".
Pulliam participated won a celebrity version of Fear Factor in September 2002. She also won a celebrity version of The Weakest Link. In 2004, Pulliam posed for a six-page lingerie and swimsuit layout in Black Men magazine in an attempt to get rid of her "little girl" image. The same year, she starred in Chingy's music video for "One Call Away".
According to an interview on Real Talk with Jeanne Roberts 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 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.