Keegan-Michael Key
Key in 2016, photo by kathclick/Bigstock.com
Place of Birth: Southfield, Michigan, U.S.
Date of Birth: March 22, 1971
Ethnicity:
*biological father – African-American
*biological mother – Polish, Belgian Flemish
Keegan-Michael Key is an American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter. He co-created, and co-starred on, the show Key & Peele, with Jordan Peele, his frequent collaborator. His roles also include the series Mad TV, Parks and Recreation, Fargo, Playing House, Friends from College, Schmigadoon!, and Reboot (2022), and the films Wanderlust, Horrible Bosses 2, Pitch Perfect 2, Tomorrowland, Keanu, Don’t Think Twice, Why Him?, The Predator (2018), Dolemite Is My Name, The Prom (2020); and, in voice role, the Hotel Transylvania franchise, The Lego Movie, The Angry Birds Movie, Storks, The Star (2017), Toy Story 4, The Lion King (2019), Wendell & Wild, Disney’s Pinocchio (2022), and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He has also hosted The Planet’s Funniest Animals on Animal Planet, and the comedy game show Game On! He is also known as Keegan Key.
He was adopted by a black father, Michael Eugene Winfield Key, and a white mother, Patricia Walsh, who has Irish and German ancestry. His biological father, Leroy McDuffie, is black. His biological mother, Carrie Herr, is white, of half Polish and half Belgian Flemish ancestry. His biological paternal half-brother was comic book and television writer Dwayne McDuffie.
Keegan-Michael is married to actress and director Elisa Pugliese.
Michael Key’s parents are Willie C. Key and Rosa Winfield.
Patricia Walsh’s parents are Earl Raphael Walsh and Alvina Freund.
Keegan-Michael’s biological paternal grandparents likely were Elijah McDuffie/Duffie and Amelia Hyland/Harrison.
Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal grandfather was Gerald Walter Kudsin (the son of Walter Thomas Kudsin and Marie Pocieznicki). Gerald was born in Detroit, Michigan. Walter was born in Pennsylvania, the son of Polish parents, Thomas Kudsin and Sophia/Sophie Rynkiewicz. Marie was born in Michigan, the daughter of Polish parents, Anthony Pocieznicki and Angeline F. Dolecki.
Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal grandmother was Jeanne Leah VanKeirsbilck (the daughter of Michel VanKeirsbilck and Martha Sylvia DeCeuninck). Jeanne was born in Michigan, to Belgian Flemish parents. Michel was born in West-Vlaanderen, the son of Henri VanKeirsbilck and Romani Tack. Martha possibly was the daughter of Maria DuBois.
Sources: Obituary of Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal grandfather, Gerald Walter Kudsin – https://www.dignitymemorial.com
Marriage record of Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal great-grandparents, Walter Thomas Kudsin and Marie Pocieznicki – https://www.familysearch.org
WWI Veterans Census record of Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal great-grandfather, Walter Thomas Kudsin – https://www.familysearch.org
Obituary of Keegan-Michael’s biological maternal grandmother, Jeanne Leah (VanKeirsbilck) Kudsin – https://www.dignitymemorial.com
Looks like Tom Morello.
I think this is his father:
https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=3063&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=368360287&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=4305679
That would make his biological paternal grandparents Elijah McDuffie/Duffie and Amelia Hyland/Harrison.
with a surname like DuBois, it’s obvious his Belgian side includes Walloon ancestors.
European what?
Probably has German ancestry. Herr is a distinctly German surname.
Probably her ancestors are originally from the Lancaster, PA area as all the Herrs I have encountered (many of them my relatives through a collateral line in the mid 17th century) have had ancestors from there – Swiss-German.
However, Carrie Herr might be her current married name. Her maiden name might be Carrie Kudsin. The best I can do search-wise is to confirm that her sister was deceased in 2001 and that the funeral was in Troy, MI, about 12 miles from Soutfield, MI. If that is the same person as Keegan-Michael’s mother, she would be 70 years old based on other searches. That would be about right – she would have been about 22 years at his birth.
http://www.genlookups.com/mi/webbbs_config.pl/noframes/read/782
Yes, that’s Key’s biological mother.
The Polish and Belgian (Flemish) also make a lot of sense since Metro Detroit got a lot of those immigrants in the early 1900’s.