Chase Infiniti didn’t arrive in Hollywood by accident. Behind every red carpet moment, every award nomination, and every tearful acceptance speech is her parents, Keith and Kim Payne, who spent decades quietly laying the groundwork for their daughter’s success. Her parenets are the kind of parents every aspiring performer dreams of having, and Chase hasn’t wasted a single opportunity to remind the world of that.
Parent’s Biography
Keith Irvin Payne was born on August 1, 1964, in Indianapolis, Indiana. He attended North Central High School before earning a B.A. from Dillard University, the historically Black university in New Orleans, graduating between 1982 and 1986. Before building homes for a living, Keith was a drummer in a jazz band, a detail that would shape the atmosphere of the household he’d eventually raise his daughters in.
Kim Payne, born Kimberly Dawn Able, is Caucasian with English, German, and Scots-Irish roots. Her father, Reverend Norman Able, was a minister at Liberty Christian Church in Martinsville, Indiana. While one source has described her as an optometrist, the more widely reported account from outlets like Vanity Fair and People describes her as having focused on raising Chase and her younger sister, Dolcé, at home.
Keith and Kim married in 1996, four years before Chase Infiniti Payne was born on May 5, 2000. The couple raised their two daughters in Indianapolis.
Chase’s sister, Dolcé Imani Payne, is a regular presence too. Dolcé accompanied Chase to the 2026 SAG/Actor Awards on March 1, 2026, and fan photos of the sisters together generated significant attention online. Chase has made a point of rotating between family members at events, bringing her mum to some occasions, her dad to others, and Dolcé when the moment calls for it. As she told Extra, “I brought my mom to some things and then getting to bring him has been so special.”
Not every person who shaped Chase’s character is still here to see where she’s ended up. Her late paternal grandmother, LauWana Payne, passed away in 2020, and Chase has spoken about her with unmistakable emotion at virtually every major press stop since.
LauWana was an active member at Second Christian Church in Indianapolis for over 50 years and was widely known as someone who led with warmth and kindness. In Essence’s 2026 Black Women in Hollywood cover story, Chase said, “She would smile at everybody, speak to everybody — very midwestern of her. And I would always watch her with such admiration. Because I want to be a ball of light like she is. Who wouldn’t want to be like her? I miss her very much and I think about her often.” The lesson Chase says she took from her grandmother was a simple one: kindness.
Parent’s Career
Keith owns and operates ARHI Bldg & Remodeling, a construction and remodeling company based in Indianapolis. Incorporated in February 2016, the firm carries a BBB A+ rating and ranks in the top 7% of Indiana’s licensed contractors. ARHI specialises in custom homes, kitchen and bathroom remodelling, and home additions across the greater Indianapolis area, with an estimated annual revenue near $472,000. The company’s tagline, “We bring your dream into reality,” reads almost like a deliberate wink now that his daughter is winning awards in Hollywood.
Kim, for her part, channelled her energy into raising two daughters and fostering a home environment where creativity could thrive. Taking her girls to musicals and plays around Indianapolis became a defining part of that effort, and it turned out to be one of the most consequential parenting decisions the family ever made.
How Chase’s Parents Named Her
One of the most delightful things about Chase Infiniti is her name, and it turns out the story behind it is just as charming as it sounds. During an appearance on the Today show in October 2025, Chase explained how it all happened.
Her parents had recently watched the 1995 film Batman Forever, and they became completely taken with Nicole Kidman’s character, Dr. Chase Meridian. “They were like, ‘Regardless of anything, our child has to be named Chase,'” she recalled. The middle name came from another 1995 film. After watching Toy Story, her parents latched onto Buzz Lightyear’s iconic line. “Oh my gosh, to infinity and beyond!” became “Infiniti,” and just like that, a name was born.
Keith later confirmed in a March 2026 interview with the Indianapolis Star that this wasn’t accidental thinking. “As most parents do, you have all of these grandeur visions of what your children will become; so we intentionally, with both of our girls, gave them names we felt that would be well received in the event something did happen for them.” That philosophy extended to younger daughter Dolcé Imani Payne as well. Chase laughed about the whole thing at the time, joking that neither of her parents is in the film industry, so it’s “really crazy” that they somehow predicted her path. “Like, how did you predict that?”
How Kim Sparked a Love for Stage Performance
Chase’s relationship with the stage started because of her mum. Growing up in Indianapolis, Kim regularly took both daughters to musicals and plays around town, and at some point noticed that Chase had a particular spark when it came to performing. Chase reportedly watched Hairspray on repeat every day after school for six months straight, which probably gave Kim enough of a signal to act on.
Kim encouraged Chase to audition for a local musical theater revue when she was 10 years old. Chase has said she immediately knew, during that first audition, “I want to do this for the rest of my life.” As she told The Face in 2024, “My mom encouraged me to try out for a musical and it was the best decision I’ve ever made.”
She carried that passion through high school, studying at a performing arts program in Indianapolis before moving to Chicago to pursue musical theater at Columbia College. Chase graduated in 2022, and her senior showcase caught the attention of a talent manager who secured her an agent. The rest moved quickly from there.
While Kim fuelled the creative fire, Keith brought a different kind of grounding to the equation. Chase has often mentioned that her dad instilled in her the importance of resilience, telling Vanity Fair that he “always instilled in me that you have to get comfortable with ‘no.'” Given that her early audition years were filled with rejections, that piece of advice likely kept her going longer than most would have managed.
It’s also worth noting that Keith was a musician long before he was a contractor. “He used to be in a jazz band, so I grew up with music constantly playing at home,” Chase told Dazed Digital in late 2025. “I was always singing and putting on shows for my parents.” Indianapolis has a storied jazz tradition, and growing up surrounded by that kind of musical sensibility clearly seeped into Chase’s instincts as a performer.
When Chase landed the role in One Battle After Another alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Teyana Taylor, Keith’s reaction was about as honest as you’d expect from an Indianapolis dad. She told The Guardian in December 2025, “My parents freaked out more than me when I said I was acting opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.”
Keith has since become a fixture on the awards circuit, accompanying Chase to the 2026 Golden Globes at The Beverly Hilton and the 57th NAACP Image Awards in Pasadena on February 28, 2026. On the Golden Globes red carpet, he told Extra TV, “I’m extremely proud. The fun thing of this is watching the other dads portray her dad, and I’m like, ‘Ah that’s kind of close but, you know, I’m the OG.'” He continued, “When you have a child, and you watch them grow up and aspire to this, there’s nothing you can say. It’s epic.” Chase, asked to pick her favourite on-screen dad, pointed to Keith without hesitation, saying she’d always choose her own father, whom she “loves very much.”
