Keith Peter Thomas Francis Julian John Duffy (born 1 October 1974) is an Irish singer, actor, radio and television presenter and drummer who began his professional music career as part of Irish boy band

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...

alongside Ronan Keating, Mikey Graham, Shane Lynch and

Stephen Gately Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 197610 October 2009) was an Irish singer who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone. All of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one in the United Kingdom, ...

in 1993. The band decided to focus on solo projects in 2000, since which Duffy has taken acting roles in soap operas such as ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' and '' Fair City''. He has also presented '' The Box'' and '' You're a Star''. Duffy has been an autism awareness campaigner since his daughter was diagnosed with the condition at 18 months old. He serves as a patron of Irish Autism Action, regularly hosting fundraising events and informational talks. Duffy was the winner on the British reality series '' The Door'' in 2010 and came third in the

first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of ''

Celebrity Big Brother ''Celebrity Big Brother'' or ''Big Brother VIP'' is an adaptation of the '' Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, t ...

'' in 2001, and in the second series of '' Splash!'' in 2014.

Early life

Duffy was born on 1 October 1974 in

Donaghmede Donaghmede () is a mixed socio-economic residential suburb on the northern side of Dublin, Ireland, formed from parts of Baldoyle, Coolock and Raheny in the 1970s. It contains a mid-size shopping centre and a ruined chapel. Location Donaghm ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

to parents Sean and Pat. He has an older brother, Derek, and a younger brother, John. He was raised

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. As a young child he contracted

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. He attended primary school at Belgrove National School and secondary school at Ardscoil Rís and Plunket's. Between the ages of 7 and 18 he played

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

, representing the

under-16 hurling team for three years. At the age of 16 he bought a drum kit and played in bands called Toledo Moon and This Burning Effigy. Duffy studied architecture for a year at college, before dropping out.

Career

Duffy first became aware of

after hearing auditions to become a member were being held. He was unsuccessful in securing an audition, but was later noticed by

Louis Walsh Michael Louis Vincent Walsh (born 5 August 1952) is an Irish music manager and television personality. He has managed Johnny Logan (singer), Johnny Logan, Boyzone, Jedward and Westlife, four of Ireland's most successful pop acts in the 1990s an ...

(who became the band's manager List of groups and performers managed by Walsh) whilst dancing in Dublin's POD Nightclub and was invited to audition. Duffy sang

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...

's "Piano Man" and danced to Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy". He was chosen as one of the original members of the band. He played a backing role in Boyzone, with Ronan Keating and Stephen Gately handling the majority of lead vocals. In 1994, Duffy and fellow band member Shane Lynch were involved in a nearly fatal car crash; both survived without serious injuries. Boyzone performed together for the last time before their hiatus in Ireland at the

Point Theatre The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall ...

during nine dates running from 3—8 January and 10—12 January 2000; they had sold more than 13 million records in total by this time and all sixteen of their singles had reached the top five of the UK Singles Chart. They also became the first Irish act to have four number one hits in the United Kingdom charts. After Boyzone disbanded in 2000, Duffy teamed up with Shane Lynch and released their

pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, pop hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop with pop's preference for melodic vocals, catchy hooks, and positive lyrics on pop-like p ...

version of " Girl You Know It's True" under the name Keith 'N' Shane. It was a top 40 hit in the UK, peaking at No. 36 in December 2000. Duffy's profile was raised as a result of his appearance on the first series of the UK's ''

'' in 2001, where he finished third out of six, and on Lily Savage's ''

Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which first aired in 1979. The show is based on the American game show ''Match Game'', with contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panellists to fill-in-the-blank questions. The ...

''. In the same year, he appeared on the celebrity special in the fourth season of '' Fort Boyard'' alongside ''

Tris Payne Tris Payne (born 1968) is a television presenter, best known for appearances on '' Wish You Were Here...?'' and '' House Doctor'', as well as ''Real Rooms'' on BBC1, '' Hot Property'' on Channel 5, and '' This Morning'' on ITV. Career Payne wa ...

'', '' Scott Wright'', '' Sally Gray'', and ''

Nell McAndrew Tracey Jane McAndrew (born 6 November 1973), known as Nell McAndrew, is an English glamour model, TV presenter and fitness trainer. She is also an accomplished amateur athlete, with a marathon personal best time of 2:54:39. She was named Yorkshi ...

''. He branched out to acting, most notably on the ITV soap opera ''

'' as the character Ciaran McCarthy. What was meant to be a three-week stint on the show turned into three years from 2002 to 2005, with Duffy leaving the show to be closer to his family in Ireland. The year 2005 saw Duffy take to the stage for the first time as Damien in the play ''Dandelions'' at Dublin's Olympia Theatre. Duffy also played the title role in ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

'', staged at the Weymouth Pavilion in

Weymouth, Dorset Weymouth ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Dorset (district), Dorset district, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. Situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey, Dorset, River Wey, south of the county town of ...

. In May 2008, it was announced that Boyzone would return with their "Back Again... No Matter What" Tour which sold over 200,000 tickets within three hours. The tour began on 25 May 2008 at Belfast's

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

arena and finished at Carlisle Bitts Park on 23 August 2008. Duffy went on to play the part of James "Ringo" Leyden in 2008 in the Irish soap opera '' Fair City'', with his character leaving the show in 2009. Boyzone then played their "Better" Tour, which was the last tour to feature member Stephen Gately. Duffy acted as pall-bearer at Gately's funeral on 16 October. Speaking after Gately's death, Duffy reminisced on the early days: "He told Louis alshhe was 5ft 7in. When he auditioned for ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ...

'' later on, he said he was 5ft 3in. But he was a true giant of a man". Duffy became presenter of '' The Box'' on Irish television channel TV3, as well as featuring in Irish comedy '' Mrs Brown''. He later served as a judge on the

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

talent contest '' You're a Star'', later presenting the fifth series of the show. Landing his first major feature-film role in 2010, Duffy was cast in Irish horror film ''

Loftus Hall Loftus Hall is a large country house on the Hook peninsula, County Wexford, Ireland. Built on the site of the original Redmond Hall, it is said to have been haunted by the devil and the ghost of a woman. Loftus Hall has a long history of ow ...

''. He reportedly had to bow out of the production due a prior contract stipulation committing him to a 2010 ''Coronation Street'' return, which would have interfered with the film's schedule. Subsequently, he returned to the soap in February 2010, reprising his role as lovable Irish rogue Ciaran McCarthy. On 2 and 3 April 2010, Duffy appeared in ITV's one-off game show ''The Door''. He won the show and his prize was £25,000 for a charity of his choice – Ambitious about Autism (a UK-based charity for autism education, then known as TreeHouse). In June 2010, he continued his work with Autism, launching a mobile phone recycling campaign in Ireland. He also appeared on ''All Star Family Fortunes'' on 11 September 2010 again raising money for Ambitious about Autism. After leaving ''Coronation Street'' in January 2011, Duffy returned to Boyzone who reunited and toured the UK and Ireland during February and March 2011, with a 21-date tour of Ireland and UK with their arena-based "Brother" Tour and four outdoor shows around the UK during August. Following the end of the "Brother" Tour, Duffy completed a half

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consid ...

raising money for Irish Autism Action. He returned to ''Coronation Street'' in September 2011 for a short stint. His last appearance as Ciaran was on 25 November 2011. From November 2011 to February 2012, Duffy played character Teddy Heelin in John B. Keane's play ''Big Maggie'' which visited many theatres in Ireland. Fellow Boyzone member Shane Lynch said in an interview on ITV show ''

Loose Women ''Loose Women'' (known as ''Live Talk'' from 2000 to 2001) is a British talk show that broadcasts on ITV weekdays from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. The show focuses on a panel of four female presenters who interview celebrities, talk about aspects of ...

'' that Boyzone would be releasing a new album and would be touring in 2013, the 20th anniversary of their formation. In November 2013, he appeared as a drug dealing fitness instructor in two episodes of Irish crime drama '' Love/Hate''.

2016–present: Boyzlife

Boyzlife is a duo consisting of Duffy and Brian McFadden, who previously appeared as members of '90s and 2000s boybands Boyzone and Westlife, respectively. In February 2020, Duffy invited John Junior, Mental Health Activist on stage with Brian McFadden on their Boyzlife tour to share his

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

journey with their fans. Junior travels around the United Kingdom with Charlie The Duck, who accompanies him, encouraging people to speak up about

. Duffy is friends with Junior and supports his campaign to raise awareness for

. On 19 January 2022, the duo announced the release of their upcoming second studio album, ''Old School''.

Personal life

Duffy married Lisa Smith on 24 June 1998 in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, only proposing two days before. Ronan Keating acted as his best man. Together, Keith and Lisa have two children, Jordan Stephen Scott Duffy (born 22 April 1995) and Mia Duffy (born 11 March 2000). After Mia was diagnosed with moderate

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

, Duffy has become active in raising awareness of the condition and in October 2014 received an Honorary Fellowship from the RCSI. Duffy was also present in Kilcloon, Meath on 2 March 2012 for the official opening of 'Stepping Stones', a specialised school for children with autism stating "All we want to do is give our kids a chance in life".

Charity work

Following his daughter's diagnosis with autism at 22 months old in 2000, he has supported different autism charities and campaigned for better support for autistic children in his native Ireland. He stepped down as patron of “Irish Autism Action” after ten years in 2015, raising over €8,000,000 for the organisation in that time. He subsequently began his own charity, th
Keith Duffy Foundation
to support autism charities throughout Ireland. In 2022 he played in the Celebrity Series of the Legends Tour golf tour at tournaments including the Staysure Senior PGA (2021) and the Celebrity Series Grand Final in Mauritius (2021 season, delayed to 2022), winning the event and £25,000 (€29,500) for the charity ASIAM.ie, which helps provide support for children with autism.

Filmography

Film and television

References

External links

Keith Duffy Experience – The place to be for Keith news!
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Boyzone-Central – Website Updated daily with all the latest news. Run by the fans for the fans
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Keith 1974 births 20th-century Irish male singers 21st-century Irish male singers Autism activists Boyzone members Irish game show hosts Irish male soap opera actors Irish pop singers Living people Male actors from Dublin (city) RTÉ television presenters Singers from Dublin (city) Virgin Media Television (Ireland) presenters Irish health activists Fellows of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland People from Donaghmede Broadcasters from County Dublin