Keith David is a very popular American actor, voice actor, narrator, singer and producer who is well known for having such a strong screen presence and a voice that is so distinctive it can’t be mistaken for anyone else. Keith David Williams was born in New York City on June 4th 1956 and has spent a great deal of time working in movies, television, theater, animation, video games and documentaries as a narrator.

Keith David has been seen on screen in many different productions over the years. Some of his most popular film credits are: The Thing, Platoon, They Live, Armageddon, Requiem for a Dream, Barbershop, Crash, The Chronicles of Riddick, Cloud Atlas, Nope, and American Fiction. He is also very well-known for being the voice actor behind characters like Goliath from Gargoyles and Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog.

David’s career is unique as he has been able to transition from one type of entertainment to another. For instance, he was able to go from Shakespearean theater, Broadway, and Hollywood films, to animated projects, video game development, and the voice-over work for documentaries. David’s ability to move from one area of entertainment to the next is a clear indication of his incredible range.

Keith David Biography Table

Category	Details
Full Name	Keith David Williams
Popular Name	Keith David
Date of Birth	June 4, 1956
Age	70 years (as of 2026)
Birthplace	New York City, New York, USA
Nationality	American
Profession	Actor, Voice Actor, Narrator, Singer, Producer
Education	High School of Performing Arts; The Juilliard School
Juilliard Qualification	Bachelor of Fine Arts
Height	6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m)
Years Active	1977–present
Spouse	Dionne Lea Williams
Children	Three
Known For	The Thing, Platoon, They Live, Greenleaf, The Princess and the Frog, Gargoyles
Notable Achievement	Three Primetime Emmy Awards
Estimated Net Worth	About $5 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth

Keith David’s long-running career as a classically trained actor has been able to transition from stage to screen to television, as well as work in both voice over and narrative roles. His three Emmy Awards are some of his biggest accomplishments.

Keith David Age

Keith David is a 70-year-old man who was born on June 4, 1956. Keith David was born in New York City and grew up in the Corona area of Queens.

David has remained a professional in the performing arts field for many years. He is able to continue working in multiple disciplines within the performing arts even as he gets older. This is due to the fact that he continues to perform as a narrator and voice actor.

The unique quality of his bass voice has been a major factor in defining his professional identity. It is this unique quality of his bass voice that has allowed The Famous Biography to get hired for roles in animated films, television series, documentary programs, commercial advertisements, and video game titles. In addition, because of the power of his voice and how recognizable it is, he is now in high demand as a narrator and voice actor within the entertainment industry.

Physical Appearance

Keith David has a great deal of charisma, an animated facial expression, and a particularly low-pitched vocal range. According to IMDb, Keith David is about 6 feet and 2 inches tall (or 1.88 meters).

The tone of his voice is probably the single most identifiable feature of his physical appearance and profession. Through the years, this has enabled him to play authoritarian roles and speak over the top of documentary films in a way that gives them weight.

Rather than being tied down by a single kind of role, David’s physical appearance and vocal style enable him to portray a variety of roles, including but not limited to military officers, dramatic characters, animated villains, and TV protagonists.

Early Life and Education

Keith David was born Keith David Williams in New York City and grew up in Corona, Queens. His mother, Dolores Dickenson, had a job as a manager for New York Telephone. His father, Lester Williams, worked in the payroll operations department.

He became interested in acting as a child. After being cast as the Cowardly Lion in a school production of “The Wizard of Oz,” he knew that he wanted to be an actor. Following this experience, he went to New York’s High School of Performing Arts.

In addition, David would go on to study at The Juilliard School, being a member of the Drama Division from 1975-1979 and receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. This formal education in theater helped provide a basis for his future work on stage, TV, film, and with voice work.

After graduating from Juilliard, David worked with the New York Shakespeare Festival and was hired by Joseph Papp as an understudy for Tullus Aufidius in Shakespeare’s Coriolanus. This time allowed him to develop the professional base that would support his extensive acting career.

Keith David Family

Keith David’s parents, Lester Williams and Dolores Dickenson, had a significant impact on how he grew up during his first few years in New York.

David’s first wife was actress Margit Edwards; they were married in 1990 and divorced, with one child. David married Dionne Lea Williams on April 28, 2001.

Keith and Dionne are parents to two girls, and David is the father of three children overall. In general, David’s family has lived in relative obscurity, especially given how long David has been active in politics.

David has discussed his spiritual views in interviews, saying that he considers himself a spiritual person and believes in God. But for the most part, David has avoided sharing information about his family’s personal life with the media.

Keith David Career

The start of Keith David’s acting career was on stage in theater and then expanded to both television and film. He used his classical training to make sure that people took him seriously as an actor who performed on stage, and over time he developed a unique voice which allowed him to do many other types of work.

He began appearing on screen with Disco Godfather and then had an even bigger role in John Carpenter‘s The Thing (1982). His next big role was in Platoon which led to more exposure for him in Hollywood.

During the next several years David created a large body of work. Some of his most notable films are They Live, Road House, Dead Presidents, Armageddon, There’s Something About Mary, Requiem for a Dream, Barbershop, Crash, and The Chronicles of Riddick.

His other major area of work was with television. He played the character Bishop James Greenleaf in the OWN drama series Greenleaf, where he portrayed the head of the Greenleaf family. This role exposed him to an even larger number of television viewers than before.

Keith David Voice Acting Career

The voice that Keith David uses when he performs as a voice actor is what defines much of his work as an artist. Because of how powerful and commanding his voice sounds, he has become a very popular choice for many types of media such as animations, documentaries, advertisements, and video game projects.

Keith David is best known for being the voice actor of Goliath in “Gargoyles.” He has also been the voice behind Dr. Facilier from “The Princess and the Frog,” which was one of the most memorable animated villains created by Disney.

The video game credits for this individual consist of some of the most popular game series including Halo, Mass Effect, Saints Row, Call of Duty, and Spawn. Through his work, he has developed a close relationship with video game players.

Keith David Narration Career

Narration has also been one of David’s most significant contributions to his professional life. For many years, David has worked closely with documentary filmmaker Ken Burns. He has narrated several of Burn’s documentaries, such as “The War,” “Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson,” and “Jackie Robinson.”

He has received three prime time Emmy awards for his work as a narrator which makes this part of his professional life one of the most recognized.

Keith David Net Worth and Income Sources

The exact amount of money Keith David possesses is unknown to the public through audited financial reporting. However, according to Celebrity Net Worth, he has an estimated net worth of around $5 million. This number is only an estimate and should not be considered as a formal declaration.

His long career provides several potential income sources. These include:

1. Film and television acting
2. Voice acting and animation
3. Documentary narration
4. Video-game voice work
5. Theater performances
6. Commercial and advertising voiceovers
7. Music and performance projects

David’s large body of films and ongoing participation in various forms of media have enabled him to establish a long-term professional life that does not rely upon any single type of media.

In addition to being a general rule, the fact that an actor’s contract, royalties, investments, properties owned, and other private business ventures are rarely completely transparent means that many times the amount of money reported to be “worth” by someone online is an estimate.

Keith David Car Collection

Keith David has not publicly released a verified list of cars that he personally owns. Although some celebrity-focused entertainment sites will occasionally state that a certain celebrity drives a specific type of car, there is not enough reliable public data available to verify a complete collection of vehicles for Keith David.

Because of this, any claims about his present cars, price of purchases, and/or ownership of high-end vehicles should be viewed with skepticism unless there is a verified interview, formal statement, or reliable source to support those claims.

The fact that he lives a fairly private life has allowed him to document his business successes more completely than his personal expenditures.

Keith David House and Properties

No public verification exists for the current address of Keith David, the value of his home, or his complete real estate portfolio. He is an actor who is established in his field and therefore has chosen to keep much of his life private including where he lives.

Many celebrity-related websites provide estimated values of celebrity residences and real estate properties; however, these figures cannot always be assumed accurate until there is supporting evidence.

Therefore, at this time, there is not a verified listing of Keith David’s existing residences and/or real estate holdings that would enable one to determine their location, value and/or whether he currently owns them.

Awards and Achievements

Throughout his career, Keith David has received significant acknowledgment for his work as a narrator. As reported by the Television Academy, David was nominated for a total of four Primetime Emmy Awards and ultimately won three.

His three Emmy-winning projects include:

Year	Award	Project
2005	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance	Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson
2008	Outstanding Voice-Over Performance	The War
2016	Outstanding Narrator	Jackie Robinson

The same goes for his work as a theater performer. David received an additional Tony Award nomination for his performance in the musical “Jelly’s Last Jam.”

His other honors include his involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Black Reel Awards, voice acting associations, and group acting. In addition, his career has been recognized through a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as an indication of his significant impact in the field of entertainment.

Keith David Social Media

Keith David has established a digital presence by using social media channels. Through Keith David’s Linktree account he links visitors to all of his social media accounts such as Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Bluesky that are associated with the KeithDavid handle.

His online presence through social media reflects his career as a performer and singer. On his Linktree page, there are several music related items that can be found, including his first album, and some of the songs that he has performed (e.g., Make Them Hear You; Old Devil Moon).

Readers must verify that a user’s social media account is associated with their formal online presence prior to accepting it as legitimate due to the ability of users to modify their social media handles, and the potential existence of fictitious profiles.

Interesting Facts About Keith David

Keith David has had an extensive and varied career, with many interesting aspects to show how broad-ranging his work has been.

• His birth name is Keith David Williams.

• After performing as the Cowardly Lion in a school performance of “The Wizard of Oz,” he developed an interest in acting.
• He graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in 1979.
• He has worked on films, TV shows, plays, animated projects, voiceover/narrative work and gaming.
• The deep, resonant tone of his voice is perhaps one of his most distinct professional traits.
• He provided the voice for Goliath from Gargoyles and Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog.
• He has narrated several important documentaries for Ken Burns.
• He has won three Primetime Emmy Awards for narration and voice-over work.
• He was nominated for a Tony Award for Jelly’s Last Jam.
• He’s worked on a number of large video-game franchises, including Halo, Mass Effect, and Saints Row.
• The man is an accomplished vocalist who performs programs honoring famous singers like Nat King Cole and Joe Williams.

Conclusion

As a result of his extensive training at Juilliard, as well as being able to play both male and female characters in several different types of media including theater, movies, TV shows, animated films, video games and documentaries, Keith David has proven to be one of the most multi-faceted actors of our time.

David’s unique vocal style defines much of who he is as an actor. However, there is so much more to him than just the work he does with his voice. Through three Emmy awards, a Tony Award nomination, numerous film and TV appearances, and many years in the business, David has left a legacy of success throughout the entertainment industry.

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