What is T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh’s Net Worth?
T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh is an actress, singer, and educator who has a net worth of $3 million. T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh rose to fame as one of the original cast members of the 1990s sketch comedy television series “In Living Color.” She went on to have major roles on such later shows as “On Our Own,” “Cosby,” “That’s So Raven,” and “The Cool Crystal Show.” Keymáh has also acted in films, including “Jackie Brown” and “Chi-Raq,” and has performed on stage in her own self-produced shows.
Early Life and Education
T’Keyah Crystal Keymáh was born as Crystal Walker on October 13, 1962 in Chicago, Illinois to Chicago State University student Arlene and state police trooper William. When Keymáh was two years old, her mother passed away, and she was subsequently raised by her maternal grandparents Mary and Carneil. As a teenager, she attended Academy of Our Lady, graduating in 1981. Keymáh went on to attend Florida A&M University, where she studied business. Both during and after college, she taught theater, dance, and mime. In 1988, Keymáh adopted her stage name after discovering that her surname Walker derived from a slave name, and not her African roots.
In Living Color
Keymáh rose to fame in 1990 as one of the original cast members of the Fox sketch comedy television show “In Living Color.” She starred in all five seasons of the show through 1994 with Jim Carrey, Tommy Davidson, and David Alan Grier. Other cast members included Keenen Ivory Wayans, Kim Wayans, Damon Wayans, Kelly Coffield, and Kim Coles. On “In Living Color,” Keymáh played such characters as Cryssy, Hilda Hedley, Leslie Livingston, and Shawanda Harvey. She also did many celebrity impressions, including ones of Whoopi Goldberg, Pam Grier, Eartha Kitt, and Diana Ross.
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Further Television Career
During her time on “In Living Color,” Keymáh appeared in episodes of “Quantum Leap” and “Roc.” She had her next substantial role in 1995, playing Scotti Decker on the ABC sitcom “On Our Own.” Keymáh began a longer-running part in 1996, as Erica Lucas on the CBS sitcom “Cosby.” The show ran for four seasons through 2000, and garnered Keymáh two NAACP Image Award nominations. Meanwhile, in 1996, Keymáh starred on “The Show” and voiced some characters on the children’s animated program “Waynehead,” created by her fellow former “In Living Color” cast mate Damon Wayans. She continued voice acting after that, with guest roles on “Pinky and the Brain,” “Batman Beyond,” “Static Shock,” and “Teen Titans,” among other animated shows. Keymáh’s next main role was on the Disney Channel teen sitcom “That’s So Raven,” playing the titular character’s mother, Tanya Baxter, from 2003 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2006, Keymáh lent her voice to the Disney animated show “American Dragon: Jake Long.” After that, from 2007 to 2008, she made multiple appearances as herself on the reality court show “Jury Duty.” Keymáh didn’t act much on television in the years immediately following that. She returned in 2013 with a two-episode guest role on the BET show “Let’s Stay Together.” In 2016, Keymáh appeared in the television film “Sharknado: The 4th Awakens.” She went on to have a main role in the short-lived Hulu series “There’s… Johnny!” in 2017. Keymáh followed that in 2018 with a guest appearance on Showtime’s “Kidding.” Kicking off the 2020s, she began starring on her own sketch comedy program, “The Cool Crystal Show.” In 2022, Keymáh reprised her role as Tanya Baxter in an episode of “Raven’s Home,” a spinoff of “That’s So Raven.”
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Film Career
Keymáh had her first credited film role in 1997, as Raynelle in Quentin Tarantino’s crime film “Jackie Brown.” Later, in 2001, she starred in the short film “The Gilded Six-Bits,” based on the 1993 short story by Zora Neale Hurston. She went on to appear in the comedy horror film “The Creature of the Sunnyside Up Trailer Park” in 2004. Keymáh followed that with roles in a string of short films, including “Lost Angels,” “Daughter of Fortune,” and “Unsolved.” In 2015, she played Lorde in Spike Lee’s musical crime dramedy “Chi-Raq.” Keymáh’s subsequent credits included “Revival,” “For Prophet,” and “Patsy Lee & the Keepers of the 5 Kingdoms.”
Stage Career
In addition to her roles on the screen, Keymáh has acted in some stage productions. In 1991, she debuted “Some of My Best Friends,” a series of monologues in verse and prose focusing on such hot-button topics as AIDS, racism, and teen sexuality. The show played to sold-out crowds at Chicago’s South Shore Cultural Center, and went on to win the NAACP Theatre Award for Best Play. Later, with Bryan C. Jones, Keymáh co-wrote and co-starred in the two-person show “Sellout!?!,” which included music. She also produced and starred in the variety show “T’Keyah Live!,” which she has performed across the United States with various guest performers since 1999. Keymáh’s other stage credits include her solo show “Don’t Get Me Started!,” which she debuted in 2011 at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters in Dallas, Texas.
Other Activities
Among her other activities, Keymáh has self-published a few books, including a self-help book and an instructional haircare manual. She has also worked as an educator, serving as a substitute teacher for the Chicago Board of Education and later taking up residency at Florida A&M University’s College of Social Sciences.
Personal Life
Keymáh is an avid gardener, and she is a vegetarian.
