Keegan-Michael Key's Parents Adopted Him but He Met His Biological Mother Eventually

Keegan-Michael Key's adoptive parents gave him as comfortable a childhood as they could, believing in and supporting his passions. They had always been upfront about him being adopted, a fact that had an ambiguous meaning for the comedian. He met his biological mother in his mid-20s during a profoundly emotional reunion.

Keegan-Michael Key drew his first breath in Southfield, Michigan, on March 22, 1971. Though he's chiefly known for his work as an Emmy-award-winning comedian, he first pursued his tertiary education before joining the entertainment industry.

He attained his undergraduate degree at the University of Detroit before earning his Master of Fine Arts in Theater at Pennsylvania State. Keegan grew up in Detroit, raised by his adoptive parents, Patricia Walsh and Michael Key. He had aspirations of being a football star, but when his epilepsy forced him to switch paths, he opted to be an entertainer.

Making people laugh was the only power he knew how to wield, and it became his "social currency" in school. He enjoyed putting on shows for his parents at home, doing dead-on impressions, re-enacting movie scenes, and even trailers to convince his mom and dad to let him see an R-rated film. However, reflecting on those memories, he said:

"I'm adopted; so to say that I spent a lot of time trying to get my parents' approval is kind of an understatement. I've been acting since I was born, you know what I mean? I’ve been putting my tap shoes on for people’s approval for a long time."

Still, it was Patricia and Michael who encouraged him to pursue his dream career, with his adoptive mother suggesting he study drama abroad. The couple worked as social workers who were upfront about Keegan being adopted.

Though he recognized that it was well-intentioned, as they tried to make him feel special, the honesty was ambiguous for Keegan. As far as he understood, knowing he was adopted and having that reinforced made him feel "different," which meant he was indeed "special" or simply "worse than everybody else."

Moreover, having a white mom and "talking white" as a biracial kid became ammunition for other kids to bully him in school. Patricia would sometimes bring lunch for her son, and his schoolmates would tease him, while others flatly denied that she was his mother.

'Amazing… and Very Emotional' - Keegan's Description of the Reunion with His Biological Mother

Keegan's biological parents are Carrie Herr and the late Leroy McDuffie. Meeting Carrie brought significant changes in Keegan's life, as he discovered that in addition to one sibling, he had seven more. His faith was also affected as he became a believer in Jesus Christ. Speaking about his reunion with his biological mother, he reflected:

"It was amazing... and very emotional. It's a long, very personal story, but you know, it's been a really wonderful revelatory story."

Keegan's Fear of Being 'Abandoned Again'

In a candid interview, Keegan opened up about his "people-pleasing" issues, which he believed stemmed from being adopted. For as long as he could remember, even with his attempts to make his parents laugh with his performances as a child, Keegan felt a nagging obligation to keep them, and others, impressed, as he explained:

"I think people who are adopted have this kind of situation where you go, 'I'm going to do everything everybody else tells me, because I don't want to get abandoned again.' I think that happens to people."

Still, the actor — whose friend and partner, Jordan Peele, married Chelsea Peretti — found love twice in his lifetime, first with Cynthia Blaise, whom he wed between 1998 and 2017, then tying the knot with actress Elisa Key in 2018. The couple had gone public with their romance in January 2017 before announcing their engagement that November. They've been happily married since.