Actress Keshia Knight-Pulliam, best known for her childhood role as Rudy Huxtable, on the hit NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–92) and as Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy-drama Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, has literally grown up right in front of our eyes. Knight-Pulliam became the youngest actress to be nominated for an Emmy Award, receiving a nomination at age six for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series. She made her professional debut at nine months old, in a national print advertisement for Johnson & Johnson baby products and made her feature-film debut in The Last Dragon (1985). She is ranked at No. 19 in VH1’s list of the “100 Greatest Kid Stars.”
Now, at age 43, she’s now married again, happier, a mother of a beautiful baby girl and loving every minute of it. In her words, she’s truly living her best life! But her journey his wasn’t without it’s own set of challenges.
She began dating her husband, Brad James, in 2019 after they met on the set of the TV movie “Pride and Prejudice: Atlanta,” reports People.
“Honestly, we just hit it off,” Pulliam told 9 Mag TV of the pair’s first meeting. “We had a lot of downtime. There was a lot going on filming that project. So there were plenty of times where we would all just be sitting in the cast seats or the van … just talking.”
James, who’s best known for his role as Todd in the Tyler Perry sitcom “For Better or For Worse,” proposed to Pulliam in Atlanta 2020, giving her a custom diamond eternity engagement band made by Fevzi of Aydin Jewelers.
They got married in October 2021–a second marriage for both Pulliam and James.
Keshia and her ex-husband, Ed Hartwell are not only officially divorced, but the two have finally settled on custody of their adorable only child together. The former child star won big in an ugly custody and separation battle with the former NFL star, according to TMZ.
Under their divorce agreement, Keisha was awarded primary custody of the couple’s one-year-old daughter, Ella Grace while Hartwell gets visitation rights and a monthly $3,007 child support bill.
As per the couple’s agreement, they also compromised on the fight regarding their daughter’s last name.
Both wanted Ella Grace to bear only their last name. They ultimately found a middle ground, agreeing that she could have a hyphenated moniker.
This news comes gives Pulliam a much-needed sigh of relief after a very public and very quick relationship, marriage and ugly back and forth rumors.
If you recall, Pulliam and Hartwell surprisingly tied the knot before the New Year in 2016. Then in July of 2017, she announced she was expecting her first child. But initially, Hartwell denied being the child’s father and a host of other unfavorable comments that are now in the past.
Pulliam, as with most of the world, was shocked to learn that her then-husband, Ed Hartwell, of only 7 months had decided to serve her with divorce papers only a week after she announced that she was pregnant with the couple’s first child…