Keshia Knight Pulliam is an American actress. She began her career as a child actress. She landed her breakthrough role as Rudy Huxtable, on the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992), and became the youngest person to be nominated for an Emmy Award, when she earned a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in A Comedy Series at the 38th Primetime Emmy Awards. She later reprised the character on the spin-off series A Different World (1987–88). Knight Pulliam is also known for her portrayal of Miranda Lucas-Payne on the TBS comedy drama Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–present).