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makeiya(mah-kee-ya)manoi foster better known as keiya foster is an american dancer, model, singer, and songwriter. she is the youngest and only female member of the band why don't we.
early life!
foster was born to parents leila herald and jessie foster on september 30, 2002 in washington d.c. she lived in d.c with her parents and younger sister mackenzie foster, until 2008 when her father passed due to his struggles with drug addiction. the family then relocated to columbia, maryland. beginning when she was three years old, foster began to compete in both dance and gymnastics. she began training in musical theater at seven years old. she was extremely shy as a kid, struggling heavily with social anxiety, and participating in the arts helped her to socialize and come out of her shell. she learned how to play an array of instruments including the guitar, bass, piano, cello, violin, drums, flute, trumpet, and clarinet.
career!
her career began to climb when she starred in singer sia's chandelier video in 2014 at only eleven years old. following that, she has starred in a majority of the singer's videos and has gone on tour with her multiple times. she also began to post videos of herself singing that year, growing a steady social media presence, and even releasing three original songs candy crushin 2014, angel baby and crystal death in 2015. she participated in DigiTour 2015, where she met bandmate jonah marais. the two connected instantly, recording covers of what do you mean? and fourfiveseconds together. her social media presence continued to grow as she modeled for ralph lauren and posted more covers online. she participated in the Impact Spring Break Tour 2016, where she connected with bandmates jack avery, zach herron, and corbyn besson. later that year she joined avery, marais, herron, and besson in los angeles, and they later formed the band why don't we with other member daniel seavey. as a group, they've released 5 eps, with their debut album premiering in 2018. foster signed to img models in 2017 and starred in the book of henry during that same year. currently, she resides in la with her four bandmates.
music inspiration!
she claims artists like prince, stevie nicks, elton john, kurt cobain, amy winehouse, sia, the eagles, and lady gaga as her main musical inspirations. she says her father really impacted the way she listens to and enjoys music, while her mother and younger sister inspire the way she lives and writes her music. she also says she is heavily inspired by her bandmates.
personal life!
foster tends to keep her dating life private. she once talked about how horrible her first kiss once, as it was for a dance back when she competed. it was rumored that she was dating blake gray in 2017, but both of them denied those rumors and claimed to just be friends. it was rumored that she was dating summer mckeen, alongside rumors questioning foster's sexuality. foster tends to ignore rumors and avoid questions about her dating life. she has a dog named stuffers and went vegan in early 2017. she often speaks up about female-empowerment especially as the only female member of her band, as well as speaking against racism and providing a platform for other artists and social media influencers to share messages against bigotry.
