Keala Scherzinger, now professionally known as Keala Kay Leemon or Kay Leemon, is the younger sister of singer, actress and television personality Nicole Scherzinger. Although public interest in her began through that family connection, Keala has followed a different professional path, moving from a creative role at Universal Music Group into residential real estate in Tennessee.
She is a licensed Realtor in the Knoxville area and currently works with Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty. Keala is also married to Dave Leemon, with whom she has three daughters, and occasionally appears alongside Nicole in family posts and television features.
Quick Facts
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Keala Kay Leemon |
| Maiden name | Keala Scherzinger |
| Professional name | Kay Leemon |
| Age | 40 as of August 2026 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Licensed Realtor |
| Current brokerage | Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty |
| Real-estate license | Tennessee No. 371682 |
| Parents | Rosemary Elikolani and Gary Scherzinger |
| Sister | Nicole Scherzinger |
| Husband | Dave Leemon |
| Children | Three daughters |
| Raised in | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Known for | Being Nicole Scherzinger’s younger sister and her real-estate career |
Who Is Keala Scherzinger?
Keala is a real-estate professional whose public profile combines her married name, maiden name and shortened professional identity. She identifies herself as Keala Kay Leemon on social media, while property listings and brokerage profiles use Kay Leemon. Celebrity coverage generally refers to her as Keala Scherzinger or Keala Leemon.
She is not an actress or recording artist like her sister. Her documented television involvement is limited to appearances as herself, most notably a 2023 episode of Fuse’s Made From Scratch. Claims that she performed in The X Factor, Dancing with the Stars or Dirty Dancing are not supported by dependable credits.
Keala is best classified as a private individual with a public professional presence. She shares selected family and business updates online but has not built a career around celebrity exposure.
How Are Keala and Nicole Scherzinger Related?
Keala and Nicole are maternal half-sisters. They share their mother, Rosemary Elikolani, but have different biological fathers.
Nicole was born to Rosemary and Alfonso Valiente. After that relationship ended, Rosemary married Gary Scherzinger, who adopted Nicole. She subsequently took his surname, which explains why the sisters are both known as Scherzinger despite having different biological fathers.
Gary is Keala’s father and Nicole’s adoptive father. Descriptions of Keala and Nicole as stepsisters are therefore inaccurate. Nicole is also the older sibling, despite some automated search pages mistakenly identifying Keala as her older sister.
The two were raised in Louisville, Kentucky, where Nicole began developing her interest in performing. Keala’s professional biography also identifies Louisville as the place where she grew up, although her precise birthplace has not been confirmed by a reliable public source.
From Louisville to a Creative Career in Los Angeles
Before entering real estate, Keala worked behind the scenes in the music industry. According to her professional Realtor.com biography, she moved from Louisville to Los Angeles after accepting a position as a Graphic Arts Director at Universal Music Group.
Public information does not identify the specific artists, record labels or campaigns connected with that role. Still, the position establishes that her early career involved design and creative production rather than singing or performing.
Her time in Los Angeles was followed by a move to Tennessee. After making several trips to Knoxville, Keala decided to settle in the area, citing its mountains, community and lakeside surroundings as part of its appeal.
That relocation ultimately changed her professional direction. Instead of remaining in the music business, she became involved in residential construction and property sales.
How Keala Built Her Real-Estate Career
Keala’s transition into real estate began through her family’s experience building homes. Her current brokerage has said that she initially sold houses constructed by her husband, giving her direct exposure to new development, design decisions and the sales process.
The couple’s involvement reportedly started with their own home before expanding into further building projects. This background helps explain Keala’s current focus on new construction and design-led properties.
She later became a licensed Tennessee real-estate agent under license number 371682. Her professional specialties include:
- Residential buying and selling
- New construction
- Relocation
- Investment properties
- Luxury homes
- Waterfront properties and land
- First-time buyers
Keala previously worked with Realty Executives Associates, which remains listed as her employer on several older celebrity and property pages. That information is now outdated. Her current Sotheby’s profile and recent property records identify her with Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty.
Her public sales history includes both standard residential homes and million-dollar properties in the Knoxville and Lenoir City markets. Those transaction prices reflect the value of the properties represented, not her personal income.
Her Marriage to Dave Leemon
Keala married Dave Leemon on February 28, 2009, during a sunset ceremony at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu.
Nicole played a central role in the wedding. She served as her sister’s maid of honor and performed during Keala and Dave’s first dance. Lewis Hamilton, who was dating Nicole at the time, was also present, according to PEOPLE’s contemporaneous wedding report.
The marriage date is further supported by Keala’s own anniversary posts. In 2023, she marked 14 years of marriage, matching the February 2009 wedding timeline.
Dave’s work in residential building has also been connected with Keala’s professional development. Her brokerage biography describes her early property career as selling homes he built, making their construction activity an important part of her move into real estate.
Keala and Dave Have Three Daughters
Keala and Dave are parents to three daughters, including younger twins. She has occasionally shared birthdays, sports and other family milestones on social media, while Nicole has posted photographs and videos with her nieces.
The family appears regularly in Keala’s personal content, but the children do not have independent public careers. Details about their schools, schedules and everyday activities are therefore not necessary to understanding Keala’s biography.
Her role as a mother is nevertheless a visible part of her public identity. Family trips, holiday gatherings and birthday celebrations appear more frequently on her social accounts than traditional celebrity events.
Keala and Nicole Share a Close Sisterly Bond
Nicole and Keala have remained publicly close despite their different careers. Their relationship has appeared through wedding coverage, birthday tributes, vacations and informal family videos.
In 2020, Nicole traveled to Tennessee to celebrate Keala’s birthday. The following holiday season, the sisters spent time with their mother after Rosemary underwent a second open-heart operation. They were later photographed during a family trip to Turks and Caicos with Dave and Nicole’s fiancé, Thom Evans.
Nicole has described Keala as the “yin to my yang” in birthday messages. Keala, in turn, has attended family celebrations and supported her sister through major personal and professional moments.
Their bond became the focus of a 2023 episode of Fuse’s Made From Scratch. The sisters prepared their mother’s oyster chicken recipe while recalling family memories. The appearance provided a rare opportunity to see Keala speaking for herself rather than being mentioned in a profile about Nicole.
How Old Is Keala Scherzinger?
Keala publicly referred to an August 2026 celebration as her 40th, establishing that she was 40 at that time and was likely born in 1986.
Some biography websites give August 4, 1986, as her exact birth date. That date has not been traced to an official record, a reputable interview or a direct statement that clearly specifies the day and year. It should therefore be treated as unconfirmed.
The same caution applies to claims that she was born in Honolulu. Keala has confirmed that she grew up in Louisville, but no dependable public source establishes her birthplace.
What Is Known About Her Education?
Keala has not publicly provided a detailed educational history through her current professional profiles.
Several secondary websites claim that she studied business administration at the University of Louisville and met Dave while attending college. No institutional record, direct interview or reputable publication was found to verify those details.
Her documented professional history begins with her Graphic Arts Director position at Universal Music Group, followed by residential building and licensed real-estate work. Until stronger evidence becomes available, claims about a particular university or degree should not be presented as established facts.
Does Keala Scherzinger Have a Confirmed Net Worth?
No reliable source has reported Keala’s personal net worth. Figures of $2 million or $3 million appear on biography websites without financial records, attributable reporting or a clear calculation method.
Her publicly identifiable sources of income include real-estate work and possible involvement in residential building projects. She also previously held a creative position at Universal Music Group.
Real-estate platforms publish the total value of properties an agent has represented, but those amounts are not equivalent to salary, commissions or personal wealth. Any precise net-worth figure assigned to Keala remains speculative.
Conclusion
Keala Scherzinger has developed a professional life distinct from the entertainment career that made her older sister famous. Now known as Keala Kay Leemon, she moved from creative work at Universal Music Group into residential building and licensed real estate in Tennessee. Her public story also includes her long marriage to Dave Leemon, their three daughters and her continuing bond with Nicole.
While many personal details remain private, her career and family relationships are documented more clearly than the unsupported claims repeated across celebrity biography sites.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Keala Scherzinger?
Keala Scherzinger, currently known as Keala Kay Leemon, is Nicole Scherzinger’s younger maternal half-sister. She is a licensed Realtor working in the Knoxville, Tennessee, market.
Are Keala and Nicole Scherzinger full sisters?
No. They share their mother, Rosemary Elikolani, but have different biological fathers. Gary Scherzinger is Keala’s father and Nicole’s adoptive father.
What does Keala Scherzinger do for a living?
She works in residential real estate and is currently affiliated with Alliance Sotheby’s International Realty. Her specialties include new construction, relocation, investment properties and luxury homes.
Who is Keala Scherzinger’s husband?
Keala is married to Dave Leemon, who has been involved in residential home building. They married on February 28, 2009, in Honolulu.
How many children does Keala Scherzinger have?
Keala and Dave have three daughters, including younger twins. Their children do not have independent public careers.
What are Keala Scherzinger’s age and net worth?
Keala was 40 in August 2026, based on her own birthday post. Her exact birth date and personal net worth have not been reliably confirmed.
