Q&A with Kenya Duke, TV Comedy Producer, Podcaster, and Entrepreneur

Kenya Duke is a successful entrepreneur, house flipper, TV personality, and podcast host! You may recognize her from her successful BET+ show “The Gary Owen Show” alongside ex-husband Gary Owen and their three kids. With a very public divorce firmly in the rearview, Kenya is focused on the launch of her new podcast Truly Kenya.

Kenya Duke

You grew up in Cali. What was your life like as a young woman? Did you always have big dreams of being in entertainment?

I was raised in Oakland, CA. I grew up as an only child with a loving, single, hardworking mother in a lower middle-class household neighborhood. I’ve always been very independent and outgoing. If there wasn’t a path to something, I made my own!

Most people know you from your BET+ show with your ex-husband Gary Owen, but tell us about your career now. Who is Kenya Duke?

I honestly thought my future was in nonprofit work which is something I still love and am active in. Before I met Gary, I never really saw myself in entertainment. Then I began booking and managing his shows, which led to producing large comedy shows and live show tapings that we sold to networks. I managed and booked the iconic PHAT Tuesdays at the Comedy Store for a couple of years.

As you mentioned, then we also had a family-based reality show on BET+ which was a lot of fun. I realized I was very good at making things happen behind the camera and not so bad in front of it and that’s when I decided to shift my career focus.

So now you are newly single and launching your own podcast! What can listeners expect?

I have so many things I am planning to do! The first is getting the Truly Kenya Podcast in the Top 10 podcast lists. It will launch this Spring and I can’t wait.

Then I have plans for an online dating show, and to really try my hand at hosting panels, after-shows, and 1-on-1 interviews for networks.

Kenya Duke

What will the show be about? What will draw listeners and set it apart from other shows out there?

Well, it’s called the Truly Kenya Podcast so hopefully, I am the draw! It’s really about me and this new journey. My honesty about everything in my life and my curious nature about how others choose to live their lives is at the forefront.

We will cover a lot of topics from sex, dating, parenting, and relationships to trending headlines and interviewing special guests.

What do you want our readers to know about you that they might not be aware of?

I have had a crazy past two years with my divorce. I have been to a financial bottom and back, had to let some friends go, and get used to my new normal, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I am the happiest I have been. I am still smiling and loving my new life, so it was all worth it even on the worst of days.

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Tags: BET, Gary Owen, house flip, Kenya Duke, Podcast, The Gary Owen Show