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Best known for her multifaceted work on "In Living Color" and her roles as Erica Lucas Hall on "Cosby" and Tonya Baxter on "That's So Raven," performer, writer, producer, and director T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh (Ta-KEE-ah Kristle KEE-Mah, a performer since childhood, ) studied theater, dance, voice, and pantomime in high school, then turned down a business scholarship to complete her studies at Florida A&M University with a degree in Theatre, co-oping at Florida State University to graduate on time, with honors. After college, the Chicago native worked as a singer, dancer, and actress, and won the title of Miss Black Illinois before placing first runner-up in the Miss Black American pageant. She moved to Los Angeles after wowing casting directors with her original performance piece, "In Black World..." in an open call for a pilot on a young television network.
That pilot turned out to be Fox's groundbreaking, internationally successful, Emmy and TV Land Award-winning sketch comedy show "In Living Color." The only female to star in all five seasons, Keymáh delivered hilarious, spot-on impressions of Whoopi Goldberg, Edith Bunker, and others; created a slew of iconic characters like Hilda Headley (Hey Mon) and Shawanda Harvey (Go On Girl); and brought her own characters such as Cryssy (In Black World) and LaShawn to the show. On the heels of "In Living Color," she guest-starred on several live-action and animated shows and went on to star in six other series, playing sexy contractor Scotti Decker on ABC's "On Our Own;" laid-back television writer Denise Everett on Fox's "The Show"; a dozen lead and guest character voices on Damon Wayans' animated series "Waynehead;" flight-attendant-turned-lawyer-turned-pastry-chef-turned-teacher Erica Lucas Hall on CBS's "Cosby;" firm, fun, caring mom Tanya Baxter on Disney's "That's So Raven;" and Johnny Carson's gate-keeping secretary on Seeso's "There's Johnny."
Growing up in the theater, Keymáh has managed to find her way to a stage between--and even during--her television and film projects. She did two runs and toured the country with her award-winning solo show "Some of My Best Friends." Her other self-penned stage projects include "T'Keyah Live... Mostly: A True Variety Show", "Sellout!?!", and "Don't Get Me Started." She produced all of her shows and Margaret Laurena Kemp's "Creative Instructions," and self-directed most her shows as well as Keisha Nickole's "S.I.S.T.E.R.", the world premiere of "Route 66: Finding Nat King Cole" at Amun Ra Theatre; and Pearl Cleage's "The Nacirema Society Requests the Honor of Your Presence at a Celebration of Their First One Hundred Years" at Florida A&M University, "Gees Bend" at Star Center Theatre, and "M: The Mandela Saga" for the Atlanta Black Theatre Festival. Her regional stage performance credits include "A Raisin in the Sun," "Miss Evers' Boys," "Love Letters," "The Five Heartbeats Live," "The Piano Lesson," "Crowns," and "School Girls, or The African Mean Girls Play."
Wearing her hair naturally on television since her days on "In Living Color", when doing so was rare, Keymáh has inspired a generation of women to follow her lead. In her popular coffee-table book, Natural Woman/Natural Hair, the author lovingly demonstrates how to style African American natural hair and shares her experiences wearing her hair naturally on television. She is delighted that so many young women all over the world look to her as a natural-hair icon. "What really gets me though, are the single and weekend dads and interracial families that my book has helped, and the older women that credit me with their natural hair conversions," Keymáh says.
After more than 20 years of constant work on stage, television, and film, Keymáh's life changed direction completely when her grandmother became seriously ill. Throughout the run of "That's So Raven", Keymáh was in charge of the care of the woman who raised her, who was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. She made the most of her time on the show, made lasting friendships with the cast, acquired another generation of fans worldwide, and even directed an episode. At the end of her final season on the show, however, the actress decided to take a break from performing to focus on her grandmother and see her through her transition.
Keymáh can also be seen on "The Cool Crystal Show," a cultural magazine-styled variety show on her own online platform, The Keymáh Network. Her answer to the 2020 global pandemic, the show got such a great response that, after a taking a break to return to school, the performer/writer/producer is now planning the second season. Her newest book is "Cycle of Love: 28 Days of Organization, Rejuvenation, and Meditation for Inspired Self-Care."
