Keith was born and raised in Farmington Hills, Michigan, United States. As of 2007, he resides in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and is a divorced father of two children, Josh and Alicia. While attending high school, he began working in restaurant kitchens and after graduation, had traveled the world working in hotels located in such places such as Brussels, Monte Carlo and New York.

Famie opened his own restaurant in 1988, which was called Les Auteurs: an American Bistro, and in the same year was recognized in Food & Wine magazine as one of the "10 Best New Chefs". Les Auteurs was featured in Esquire Magazine's "Best New Restaurants of 1988." In 1993, Famie began making television appearances in cooking segments for local Detroit television stations. The popular segments ultimately led to several half-hour specials airing in Detroit. In 1998, he wrote a cookbook, Famie's Adventures in Cooking, which is published by Sleeping Bear Press.

Following his appearances on Survivor, Famie continued his cooking-related writing and television appearances, albeit with a larger potential following. Famie hosted a television series, Keith Famie's Adventures, for the Food Network, in which Famie traveled to various destinations to present local cuisine. According to the Food Network website, 30 episodes were produced. The pilot episode videotaped in Kenya debuted Monday, November 12, 2001, when Survivor: Africa was being broadcast. Another 28 half-hour episodes, and a one-hour special taped in Tahiti, near the home of Survivor: Marquesas were first broadcast in 2002. The title of his first post-Survivor cookbook, "Yes I Can Cook Rice and So Can You" referenced Famie's Survivor depiction.

In 2003, Keith Famie had another book published, titled "You Haven't Been There Until You've Eaten The Food." The book was published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers in New York. There are over 130 recipes in this book, covering his visits to six foreign countries and three U.S. states.