Key was born in Southfield, Michigan, on March 22, 1971, the son of an African-American father, Leroy McDuffie, and Carrie Herr, a woman of Polish and Flemish descent. He hosted The Planet's Funniest Animals on Animal Planet (2005–2008), and hosted Game On! on CBS in 2020. In 2017, Key made his Broadway debut in Steve Martin's comic play Meteor Shower. Key and Peele produced and starred in the 2016 action-comedy film Keanu. In 2015, he appeared at the White House Correspondents' Dinner as the Key & Peele character Luther, President Barack Obama's anger translator.

He has also voiced roles in Disney's Toy Story 4 (2019) and the live action remakes of The Lion King (2019), and Pinocchio (2022). He has provided voice-work for The Lego Movie (2014), the subsequent films of the Hotel Transylvania franchise (2015–2022), Storks, The Angry Birds Movie (both 2016), The Star (2017), Wendell & Wild (2022), and The Super Mario Bros. Key has had supporting roles in several films, including Horrible Bosses 2 in (2014), Pitch Perfect 2 (2015), Don't Think Twice (2016), Dolemite Is My Name (2019), and The Prom (2020). Key currently stars in the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! (2021–present). He also appeared alongside Peele in the first season of the FX series Fargo in 2014, and had a recurring role on Parks and Recreation from 2013 to 2015. He also acted in the FOX sketch series Mad TV (2004–2009), USA Networks's sitcom Playing House (2014–2017), the Netflix comedy series Friends from College (2017–2019) and the Hulu series Reboot (2022). He co-created and co-starred alongside Jordan Peele in Comedy Central's sketch series Key & Peele (2012–2015) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award. Keegan-Michael Key (born March 22, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and producer.

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