"Through my eyes, the universe is a perfect crystal sphere with sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding, always magnificent events that encompass every imaginable possibility!" - T'keyah Crystal Keymáh

T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh has made us laugh from the past days of her multitude of hilarious characters on In Living Color to the natural and saucy Erica Lucas on Cosby, toher role as Tanya Baxter, the mother of Raven-Symone on the Nick hit That's So Raven.

Her range is amazing, as she can make you laugh until your belly aches or she can make you think and cry as she takes on her more dramatic roles. It is clear that her energy is focused, her talent never taken for granted, and her culture never ignored. Her company T'Keyah Keymáh, Inc.'s mission is: "with clarity of vision and divine guidance, to establish, encourage and produce products, projects, activities and thought which celebrate life, love, earth and culture". She syas that her individual mission in life is: "to constantly encourage my spirit to remember why I’m here, to make each place I visit the better for my having been there and each person I meet the better for my having met them. One might say that T'Keyah carries this wisdom from her grandmother , who she says lived by the concept of being the best person you can be, doing the best that you can do, and making the most of what you have and being thankful for it. T'keyah finds the time to be thankful and nurture her body, mind, and spirit by starting and ending her days with meditation. "I keep close to my trinkets, photos and other reminders of the people that I love; both here and …there. I communicate in a positive and respectful manner to those I love and I refrain as much as I am able from speaking against people behind their backs. In my prayers I ask for guidance from the ancestors, and I travel whenever I can."

One cannot help but to admire and gaze over her natural presence. With such a high demand for assimilation within the world of Nubian actors, T'Keyah has remained grounded in her natural grace. We asked her what she thought about the lack of positive/natural images for female actress of color and had she ever been faced with any circumstances that challenged her “naturalness”...so to speak, she said "Even with the recent proliferation of race ambivalent faces, American (and worldwide) media images still reflect the premise that white is better than black, light better than dark, blonde better than brunette, straight better than nappy. I believe this will continue as long as we sit our daughters by hot combs or lye bearing stoves that teach them the lie that they are ugly. I hope more women of color, especially younger women, have the daring to reject images that don’t reflect us honorably."

She shares her honor and pride of being a natural sister in her latest book Natural Woman / Natural Hair: A Hair Journey, a 100 page full color book that takes you on natural hair journeys along with fantastic how-to steps and photos for over 30 styles, and embellished artistically with bits of poetry celebrating our naps, curls, coils, and textures. "I have been fortunate to work consistently but I have been passed over for more than a few jobs because I was unwilling to “do something” with my hair. One of the reasons that I wrote Natural Woman / Natural Hair [was] to encourage women of color not to believe the hype."

So, how does she keep such a natural glow on a daily basis? "When I'm good, I drink plenty of water. After washing, I rinse my face with cold water, tone, apply sun block and wear as little make-up as I can. I sleep on a satiny pillow case (and travel with one). I like to experiment with different products. Currently for my face I like Black Opal, Aloe Vera, my own concocted toner, Burt’s Bees and even (yikes) Proactive (yes, I admit it). For my hair, some of my favorites are Bianca's Botanicals (www.biancabotanical.com), Qhemet Biologics (qhemetbiologics.com), and Just B Natural (justbnatural.com). For my skin (and sometimes my hair) I use handmade soaps by Face Your Body (faceyourbody.com), which will soon be available for sale on my site. Yeah!

A Peace Of Her Nature: "Whenever I have the time, I garden. The following is from Thoughts on the Sacred Watered Rocks, my upcoming book of poems and images":

How does the world/universe look through the eyes of T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh :

"Through my eyes, the universe is a perfect crystal sphere with sometimes challenging, sometimes rewarding, always magnificent events that encompass every imaginable possibility! Of course I see the damage done to the earth by those who don’t know better than to destroy that which sustains them. But I also believe that wisdom has more patience than ignorance; and more stamina. I consider myself part of the team that seeks optimistically to heal the wounds of the earth and her inhabitants. Oh but in the eyes of my young character Cryssy, we are already healed… In Black World." The name In Black World comes from T'Keyah's solo performance piece of the same name wherein the main character, Cryssy, a little girl of seven, envisions a culturally corrected world where black people are safe, self governed, prosperous and self-respecting.

Biggest challenge and biggest reward in her life thus far: "Some of my biggest challenges have been accepting the deaths of loved ones. But the biggest rewards have been having those same people in my life in the first place; people whose deaths leave the kind of gaping holes in the heart that can only be mended with spectacular memories! Other challenges have to do with accepting the fact that people don't always behave honorably or even reciprocate honorable behavior. But the associated rewards have to do with the exhilaration of survival. Also, it’s really cool when someone comes up to me after a (live) show and tells me that a character that I portrayed, a poem that I read, or a song that I sung touched their heart and made their day better."

Current/future projects that she would like to achieve: "Whew! I have two film projects in development. One will hopefully go into production late next year. I just finished producing my friend Margaret Laurena Kemp's self penned, solo stage performance, "Creative Instructions... From MyCrummyLife" (creativeinstructions.com). I am an Artistic Associate for Stage Aurora Theatrical Company in Jacksonville, Florida. I am really excited to have just begun working with base guitar player Lobace and pianist Phil Gardenhigher on a jazzy music project that has been on my back burner for years."

Favorite affirmation or inspirational quote: "I love good quotes. My website is filled with them. Years ago, Bianca Ferguson shared a great one with me from an anonymous author: "Finally, the time came, when to remain tight in a bud was more painful than to bloom."

T'keyah is an inspiration to all of us who are striving to live life to the fullest by making a statement, being comfortable in the skin wer'e in, gracing smiles with laughter, honoring nature, living with and through our ancestors, developing our spirits, and simply said...growing as a natural Nubian Queen, and we thank her for that!