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Home Miscellaneous Celebrities Keegan Michael Key
 

Keegan Michael Key

Shamli Desai
Article byShamli Desai
EDUCBA
Reviewed byRavi Rathore

Updated May 31, 2023

About Keegan Michael Key

Keegan-Michael Key is one of the prominent actors in Hollywood and has also made his name as a screenwriter, comedian, and producer. The actor is prominently known for his role in Key and Peele, a sketch series on Comedy Central. Throughout this journey in the industry, Keegan has banked ten nominations and has won one out of those.

 

 

Personal Biography

Full Name Keegan-Michael Key
Date of Birth 22nd March 1971
Place of Birth Southfield, Michigan
Nationality American
Occupation Producer, Screenwriter, Comedian, Actor
Marital Status Married
Spouse Elisa Pugliese (2018)

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Cynthia Blaise (1998-2017)

Parents Leroy McDuffie & Carrie Herr
Relative(s) Dwayne McDuffie
Height 6′ 11″
Weight 159 lbs.
Eye Color Dark brown
Hair Color Bald
Shoe Size 11 U.S.
Debut Movie Get the Hell out of Hamtown – 1999
Debut Series ER (2001)
Net Worth USD 7 Million
Award Emmy for Key & Peele
School Royal Oak’s Shrine Catholic High School
College BFA from the University of Detroit

MFA from Pennsylvania State University

Early Life

Keegan-Michael Key’s birthday is 22nd March 1971, and his place of birth is Southfield, Michigan. His parents were Leroy McDuffie and Carrie Herr. But soon, he was adopted by a Detroit couple – Patricia Walsh and Michael Key. Both of them were social workers. His biological parents had two kids; one was Dwayne McDuffie, a comic book writer. Keegan met his half-brothers after the death of their biological parents.

The actor and comedian were raised Catholic and went to the University of Detroit. He got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1993 and then studied Master of Fine Arts. The Pennsylvania State University assessed the second degree.

Career Timeline

  • Keegan’s Hollywood journey began in 1999, but the real stardom didn’t start before Mad TV.
  • Keegan-Michael Key entered Mad TV in 2004 when the show was in its 9th season. The series pitted him against Jordan Peele due to their comedy chemistry. Keegan played multiple characters on that show, but “Coach Hines” took away the spotlight.
  • During the 9th and 10th seasons of Mad TV, Key also portrayed the character of “Dr. Funkenstein.” There he played the role of a monster.
  • Key has portrayed many characters in the show, including Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Bill Cosby, Tyler Perry, Eddie Murphy, and Terrell Owens.
  • After the show, Key and Pelee began their comedy sketch series for five seasons (2012-15).
  • Key has also portrayed the main lead in “Friends from College”: a Netflix comedy show. The series is about a group of friends from Harvard University and how their lives have changed in their 30s. In this comedy, he plays an award-winning fictional writer.
  • Key has been a part of the famous comedy standup – Whose Line Is It Anyway? as a member of the rotating chair.

Unique Roles Over Time

  • Keegan-Michael Key has given his voice to several famous animated movies, including the Hotel Transylvania series, The Lego Movie, The Angry Birds Movie, Toy Story 4, The Lion King, and Pinocchio.
  • He made his debut on Broadway with Meteor Shower in 2017. It was a comedy by Steve Martin.
  • He hosted SNL (Saturday Night Live) on 15th March 2021. It made him the first cast member of Mad TV to host the show.
  • He hosts a fun science show on National Geographic – Brain Games.
  • He played a crucial role in collecting emergency funds for COVID-19 by hosting an online event in 2020.

Movies by Keegan-Michael Key

Year Movie Character
2008 Role Models Duane
2011 Just Go with It Ernesto
2012 Wanderlust Marcys Flunkie
2014 Let’s Be Cops Pupa
2014 Horrible Bosses 2 Mike
2015 Freaks of Nature Mr. Keller
2019 Playing with Fire Mark Rogers

Series by Keegan-Michael Key

Year Series Character
2004-09 Mad TV Various Characters
2005-08 ThePlanet’sFunniest Animals Host
2012-15 Key & Peele Key
2014-17 Playing House Mark Rodriguez
2015-19 SuperMansion Voices
2017-19 Friends from College Ethan Turner
2019-22 Green Eggs and Ham Narrator
2022-present Reboot Reed Sterling

 Nominations

  • 2013: Writers Guild of America Award for Best Comedy Series
  • 2014: NAACP Image Award for Variety in Series or Special
  • 2014: American Comedy Award for Best Comedy Series, Best Actor, Best Writing
  • 2014: Primetime Emmy Award for Writing
  • 2015: NAACP Image Award for favorite sketch, outstanding comedy, actor, and variety
  • 2015: Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding writing, supporting actor, and short-format program
  • 2016: NAACP Image Award for outstanding comedy and writing
  • 2016: Award from the Screen Actors Guild for outstanding performance
  • 2016: Writers Guild of America Award for portraying best comedy
  • 2016: Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding writing, supporting actor, and voice-over

All these nominations were for Key & Pelee except for 2016’s voice-over nomination for his voice in SuperMansion.

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