Career

In 1986, Knight Pulliam became the youngest actress to be nominated for an Emmy Award, receiving a nomination at age six for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series. She made her professional debut at nine months old, in a national print advertisement for Johnson & Johnson baby products. She continued working, appearing in television commercials and TV shows, and making her feature-film debut in The Last Dragon (1985). At age three, she played Keshia on Sesame Street. She also appeared in the movies "Polly" and its sequel "Polly Comin' Home" with Phylicia Rashad. She is ranked at No. 19 in VH1's list of the "100 Greatest Kid Stars".

Knight Pulliam won a celebrity version of Fear Factor in September 2002. She also won a celebrity version of The Weakest Link, and participated in Celebrity Mole 2: Yucatan. In 2004, she appeared in Chingy's music video for "One Call Away". In 2005, she played Darnelle in Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah. Knight Pulliam performed in Donald Gray's play The Man of Her Dreams in the fall of 2006 in St. Louis. 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 and 2010 NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2009, she played Candace "Candy" Washington in the film Madea Goes to Jail. Knight Pulliam appeared in Tank's 2010 music video for his cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me", playing his love interest.

In 2011, commenting on the fact that only white actors had won Golden Globe Awards that year, she said: "I think that there is definitely work to be done. It can always be more diverse. We live in a very multicultural and global society. More needs to be done to increase the representation of all people and really show the world for what it is. It’s not just one color."

In 2013, she was a contestant on the ABC celebrity diving show Splash. She was first to be eliminated. In 2015, Knight Pulliam was a contestant on the NBC show The Celebrity Apprentice Season 7 and was the first contestant eliminated after being the losing project manager for her team. In 2018, Knight Pulliam was a HouseGuest on the CBS show Celebrity Big Brother where she was the second person evicted out of the house, on Day 13.

Personal life

Keshia Knight Pulliam was born in Newark, New Jersey, the daughter of Denise and James Knight Pulliam, Sr., a manager. She has two brothers, James Knight Pulliam II and Mshon Knight Pulliam. She received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Spelman College in 2001. She is a member of the Eta Kappa Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated.

On New Year's Eve 2015, Knight Pulliam became engaged to Edgerton Hartwell. They were married in Knight Pulliam's Atlanta home on January 1, 2016. Hartwell filed for divorce on July 25, 2016. In January 2017, Knight Pulliam gave birth to a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Last Dragon, TheThe Last Dragon	Sophia / Natasha Green
2004	Motives	Letrice	Video
2005	Beauty Shop	Darnelle
2005	Gospel, TheThe Gospel	Maya Walker
2008	Cuttin Da Mustard	Wendy
2008	Death Toll	Mirie
2009	Madea Goes to Jail	Candace Washington

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984-92	Cosby Show, TheThe Cosby Show	Rudy Huxtable	Main role; 177 episodes
1985	Back to Next Saturday	Rudy Huxtable	Movie
1987	Little Match Girl, TheThe Little Match Girl	Molly	Movie
1987-88	Different World, AA Different World	Rudy Huxtable	3 episodes
1989	Polly	Polly	Movie
1989	Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, AA Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court	Karen	Movie
1990	Polly: Comin' Home!	Polly	Movie
1990	The Earth Day Special	Rudy Huxtable
1997	Cosby	Guitarist	Episode: "The Return of Charlites"
2002	Fear Factor	Herself	Reality series; one episode
2002	What About Your Friends: Weekend Getaway	Temple	Movie
2004	Celebrity Mole: Yucatán	Herself	Reality series; eliminated in Episode 4
2004	Christmas at Water's Edge	Leila Turner	Movie
2007-12	Tyler Perry's House of Payne	Miranda Lucas Payne	Main role; 122 episodes
2010	Psych	Stranjay	Episode: "The Polarizing Express"
2012	Mr. Box Office	Vanessa Owens	Episode: "Pilot"
2013	Splash	Herself	Reality series; eliminated in Episode 1
2013	Guys with Kids	Bridget	Episode: "Divorce Party"
2013	Love Letter, TheThe Love Letter	Parker	Movie
2015	The Celebrity Apprentice Season 7	Herself	Reality series; eliminated in Episode 1
2015	Will to Love	Rachel Paris	Movie
2016	Here We Go Again	Pregnant lady
2018	Celebrity Big Brother	Herself	HouseGuest; 10th Place

Awards and nominations

• 1986: Emmy Awards Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series (nominated) The Cosby Show
• 2009: NAACP Image Awards Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
• 2010: NAACP Image Awards Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
• 2011: NAACP Image Awards Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (nominated) Tyler Perry's House of Payne
• 2012: NAACP Image Awards Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy Series (won) Tyler Perry's House of Payne

[ Source: Wikipedia ]