This actress got her start as a toddler when she appeared on Sesame Street with Elmo and Big Bird.
She continued acting and landed a part in the movie The Last Dragon in 1985.
Soon she won a major role on one of the biggest family sitcoms TV has ever seen. She was the cute little one with the pigtails and one-line zingers.
Then as an adult she was in the hit movie Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah. Two years later came a series from Tyler Perry.
But when she fell in love with a Lifetime costar and settled down, she decided to throw the glamour of Hollywood away and get back to nature.
She and her spouse now live on a farm with their newborn baby where they take care of chickens and goats.
Who is she?
She is 44-year-old Keshia Knight Pulliam, host of Married at First Sight After Party.
The star is married to her former costar Brad James and they have a child together. Recently, they gave up showbusiness for farm life.
The curvy star told People that she is happy to take a break from work to enjoy some much-needed downtime with family.
‘I have been in the business my entire life, spanning over 40 years,’ Pulliam told the outlet.
‘But I’ve also had my own private life away from it, and I appreciate that.’
And now they take care of live animals.
‘We live on a farm, so my husband built me a greenhouse, and we’re in the process of planting, taking care of chickens and goats and really just enjoying time as a family,’ she added.
After she fell for her Pride & Prejudice: Atlanta costar Brad her world changed.
‘We were actually playing brother and sister,’ she admitted. ‘Our paths had crossed many times before, but this was the first time we saw each other.’
They were friends first, then things became romantic in 2019, she explained. In December 2020 they became engaged and they wed in an intimate ceremony in September 2021.
In December 2022, it was announced the couple were expecting their first child together.
‘Five or so years later and he’s my husband, and we’ve made a whole other human being.’
They welcomed a son named Knight in April. She already has a daughter named Ella Grace, age five, with her ex-husband and former NFL star Ed Hartwell.
‘Ella is the best big sister ever,’ she told People. ‘So much so that sometimes I have to remind her that I am both of their mama and that she’s not the mama! But they love each other so much, it’s just a joy. The way his face lights up when he sees her, it’s amazing.’
Her career started when she was still in diapers.
Her first job was at nine months old in a national print advertisement for Johnson & Johnson baby products.
At age three, she was on Sesame Street.
The Newark, New Jersey native continued working, appearing in television commercials and TV shows, and making her feature film debut in The Last Dragon (1985).
She landed her biggest role as Rudy Huxtable on the sitcom The Cosby Show, which starred Bill Cosby and aired from 1984 until 1992.
She also appeared in the movies Polly and its sequel Polly: Comin’ Home!
In 2005, she played Darnelle in Beauty Shop with Queen Latifah.
She later starred as Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy drama Tyler Perry’s House of Payne (2007–present).
In 2009, she played Candace ‘Candy’ Washington-Collins in the film Madea Goes to Jail.
The star has also done reality TV.
She won a celebrity version of Fear Factor in September 2002 and she also won a celebrity version of The Weakest Link, and participated in Celebrity Mole: Yucatan.
She was a contestant on the ABC celebrity diving show Splash in 2013
In 2015, Knight Pulliam was a contestant on the NBC show The Celebrity Apprentice Season 7 then in 2018, Knight Pulliam was a House Guest on the first season of the CBS series Celebrity Big Brother.
On New Year’s Eve 2015, Knight Pulliam became engaged to retired National Football League player Edgerton Hartwell.
They were married the next day, January 1, 2016, and split in July 2016. On January 2017, Knight Pulliam gave birth to a daughter named Ella Grace Hartwell. The divorce was finalized in April 2018.
She was educated on the East Coast: Potomac School in McLean and Foxcroft School in Middleburg, Virginia, from which she graduated in 1997.
And she went to Rutgers Preparatory School in Somerset, New Jersey. She received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Spelman College in 2001.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
