FRESH FACE: Keshia Knight Pulliam
By Emily Christianson, Hollywood.com Staff
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Thursday, February 19, 2009
Her Current Gig: Prostitute and former druggie Candace Washington in Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail. When she lands in the pen, Madea (Perry) offers her some “motherly” love.
You Know This Face … because she spent eight years playing Rudy Huxtable on The Cosby Show. Her endearing performance as the youngest daughter of five, earned her a best supporting actress nod at just 6 years old. After the show wrapped, Pulliam disappeared, resurfacing after college for the celebrity reality-show circuit. She won two including Fear Factor and Weakest Link and faired pretty well on Celebrity Mole: Yucatan, coming in fourth. .
Why So Fresh? She landed a role in Tyler Perry's House of Payne television series last year. The 29-year-old plays Calvin Payne’s high-maintenance wife. Fans will also catch a glimpse of her in the new BET reality show Harlem Heights about trendy twentysomethings trying to make it in New York.
In Her Own Words ... “I think it’s learning from the mistakes of those before you,” she tells essence.com. “It’s very documented the rough route that other child stars have had. My family made sure my focus was to stay grounded, to stay humble. In my family, it’s not an option not to be. Taking that time off to grow emotionally, mentally and physically was a very deliberate thing; to just go to school and have those regular experiences in life. Through that, your self-worth isn’t grounded in Hollywood. It isn’t grounded in your next role. It’s grounded in real stuff — going to school, being a good person, those sorts of things. So I really attribute it to my upbringing.” LAST WEEK'S FRESH FACE: 'Lost' Newbie Zuleikha Robinson