Honorees

Keshia Knight Pulliam – Mayor’s Phoenix Award

Presenter: LaRhonda Sutton, Director of Film & Entertainment, Mayor’s Office, City of Atlanta

Keshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress who was born in Newark, NJ.  She began her career at nine months old in a national print ad for Johnson’s and Johnson’s Baby Products.  By the age of four, Ms. Pulliam had appeared in several national commercials, was a regular on “Sesame Street” and was in the feature film “The Last Dragon.”   Her major break came when she landed the role of “Rudy Huxtable”, the youngest daughter of Claire and Cliff Huxtable, on the iconic television series “ The Cosby Show” (1984-1992).  For her work on “The Cosby Show,” Ms. Pulliam received several NAACP Image Awards, Young Artist Awards, a People’s Choice Award, a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, and a host of other honors.  To date, she is the youngest actress ever nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Emmy Award.

Ms. Pulliam has starred in a host of TV movies, including “The Little Match Girl,”  an update of the Mark Twain epic “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court,” and “Polly” and “Polly: Comin’ Home!,”  Debbie Allen’s musical versions of “Pollyanna.” In 2001 she graduated with honors from Spelman College with a B.A. in Sociology and a concentration in film.  Since graduating, Ms. Pulliam has resumed her acting career in both television and film.  She co-starred alongside Queen Latifah in “Beauty Shop,” with Boris Kodjoe and Idris Elba in “The Gospel,” and with Tyler Perry and Derek Luke in “Madea Goes to Jail.”   Ms. Pulliam currently stars on the TBS sitcom “The House of Payne,” for which she has won three NAACP Image Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Ms. Pulliam is a blossoming mogul with her own Atlanta-based production company, Kizzy Productions, and a non-profit organization for young girls, Kamp Kizzy. In addition, she is the co-founder of The A-List Experience, which serves as a fundraising vehicle for A-List celebrities, and is the official brand ambassador for Hairfinity hair vitamins. 

 

Althea Brown – Proclamation, City Council, City of Atlanta

Presenter: Councilmember Cleta Winslow, District 4, City of Atlanta

As a producer, director, editor, and animator, Althea Brown has established herself as a solid creator of amazing video projects. From being a disc jockey on a college station, writing and performing in commercials, and directing television productions, she has done it all. With nearly 30 awards from several different organizations, her work as a producer, director, editor and animator is frequently recognized.

As a member of the Board of Directors of Women in Film/Atlanta, she helped develop the group’s mentor program.  She was also an active member of the Board of Directors for IMAGE Film and Video, an independent film resource organization, and has taught classes on non-linear editing .  With nearly 12,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, Althea Brown took home three trophies from the 35th Annual Telly Awards, giving her a dozen Tellys. The Telly Awards honor the very best film and video productions; groundbreaking online video content; and outstanding local, regional, and cable television commercials and programs.  Her 2014 Telly Awards were a Silver Telly for “A Trek to the River’s Edge,” a Bronze for “Oscar: The Memoir of a Master Architect,” and a Bronze for “We Who Believe in FREEDOM.”   Ms. Brown started Production Company in Atlanta several years ago.  As an independent filmmaker, she handles client development, budgeting, acquiring work, leasing equipment, assembling and managing crews, and creating a final production.