Who Is Cynthia Blaise? Any Kids With Ex-Husband Keegan-Michael Key?

Cynthia Blaise, a dialect coach, is mainly recognized as the ex-wife of American comedian and actor Keegan-Michael Key. The former couple remained married for 17 years before calling it quits in 2015  and finalizing their divorce in 2017. 

Besides, Cynthia is quite an accomplished dialect coach on her own working in Hollywood for almost two decades. Let’s explore more of her professional life including her marriage with her former husband, their expensive divorce, and many more.

Key Takeaways

• Cynthia Blaise is a speech, voice, and dialect coach. She is currently associated with a company named Cindylou, Inc. as per her LinkedIn.
• She rose to fame as the ex-wife of an American popular entertainer Keegan-Michael Key. They got married in 1998 and divorced in 2017.
• Cynthia doesn’t share children with her ex-spouse.
• As per the information we get, she now resides in Los Angeles, California.

Cynthia Blaise’s Age And Education

Cynthia was born in January 1958 in the United States of America. As of 2023, she is 65 years of age.

Growing up, she aspired to be an artist, and as a result, she ended up earning a degree in theater and fine arts. She completed her Bachelor’s in Theatre from the University of Oregon and MFA in acting from the University of California Irvine. The renowned director Jerzy Grotowski taught her acting.

Cynthia Blaise Is A Voice, Speech, And Dialect Coach

As per her LinkedIn, Cynthia has been the voice, speech, and dialect coach at Cindylou, Inc. for 36 years. She joined the company in 1987 right after she earned her master’s degree in acting.

Later, she made her debut as a dialect coach in Hollywood through the 1996 film The Spitfire Grill but it went uncredited. In 1998, she landed a job in the movie Polish Wedding and after that, she consistently led her career in mainstream business till 2016.

In the almost two decades of her career, she has 22 coach credits to her name according to IMDb. Some of the hit shows and movies that she worked as a dialect coach on are American Horror Story (2011), Touch (1997), Bad Teacher (2011), and Five Year Engagement (2012).

Blaise also worked as an accent trainer for an actor, Mekhi Phifer for his role in the 2002 drama series Mile 8.

Cynthia’s Coaching Career Outside Hollywood

Not only in Hollywood but Cynthia who is ‘ a certified associate in Fitzmaurice voice work’ has a lot of experience working as a dialect, and speech coach and acting professor in three different Universities across the United States. As of now, she has taught at Temple University, Wayne State University, and The University of Illinois.

Further, she has provided a workshop at Vasta and ATHE conferences. In addition to that, the ex-celebrity wife also has been an academic director for the plays like Crimes of the Heart and The Cripple of Inishmann.

Cynthia Blaise Has Acted In Some Movie And TV Shows

Before becoming a dialect coach, she was an actress. She first stepped into Hollywood as an actress and her debut movie was the 1989 film Star Trek V: The Final Frontier in which she portrayed the character Amanda. After that, she played the role of teacher in the 2000 science fiction film Timequest.

She also worked together with her ex-husband Keegan in his popular comedy series Key and Peele as a Mrs. Carruthers, an adoption agency worker. Her last acting project was the 2016 film Robot Chicken in which she did voice acting in one episode of it.

Cynthia Blaise Married 13 Years Younger Keegan-Michael Key In 1998 

Despite having 13 year age difference, Cynthia got married to her then-husband Keegan on December 27, 1998, in an intimate ceremony. The now ex-couple first met during their association with Detroit Repertory Theatre and soon started dating each other.

They led their nuptials gracefully for the next 17 years until Keegan filed for annulment of their marriage on December 31, 2015, citing irreconcilable differences. At the time, they had been already living apart for about 2 months. Their divorce was finalized two years later in November 2017.

Cynthia Asked For Spousal Support Claiming The Divorce Degraded Her Health

After her husband of 17 years filed for divorce, Cynthia also appealed to the court for spousal support and a fair split of other property.

As per the TMZ report, Blaise said that the divorce was an unexpected thing for her and it caused her serious physical and mental problems like severe depression, anxiety, hair and weight loss, and PTSD which obliged her to take 5 different meds.

Further, she claimed that she has been the financial support for her husband during the time when he was struggling with his entertainment career. The voice coach also said that she is having some financial problems with the fact that she had given up on her career before.

The Amount Blaise Received As Divorce Settlement Money

The court order came in favor of Cynthia and ordered her ex-husband to pay her $34,000 per month as spousal support. Key was also asked to give 21 percent of his gross annual income to his ex-wife but only if his income exceeds $2.153 million a year.

On average, Blaise received the sum of $700,00 as divorce settlement money. There was also a condition that the order would be dismissed if she remarried or the death of any of the parties or until the court changed its order.

Cynthia Blaise’s Love Life Post Her Divorce

Since her separation from Keegan, Cynthia has been leading a private life. Further, her absence on social media handles also has assisted in hiding the current updates on her relationship status.

On the other hand, her popular ex-partner Keegan is now happily married to a TV and film producer Elisa Pugliese. They started dating each other even before Cynthia was not officially divorced from Key. They got married a year after their divorce in 2018.

Does Cynthia Share Any Children With Her Ex-Spouse?

No, she doesn’t have kids with Keegan. Despite their 17 years long marriage, they never had any children. Not only with her but her former spouse is childless with his current wife of five years too.

Cynthia’s Net Worth

As per several sources, she has an estimated net worth of $1 million. Her primary source of income is her more than three-decade career as a dialectic coach. Further, the alimony she received also contributes to her net amount.

Meanwhile, her former husband Keegan-Michael owns a fortune of $12 million in 2023.