Keke Palmer has warmed our hearts since her breakthrough role as a spelling bee champ in the Lion’s Gate film Akeelah and the Bee. The film grossed over $19 million and received various awards and nominations, which catapulted Palmer’s success.
She would become a sensation, starring in Madea’s Family Reunion, Jump In!, The Longshots, Shrink, and Nickelodeon’s teen sitcom True Jackson VP; made her the fourth highest-paid child star on television. The show ran for three seasons.
Over the last 15 years, Palmer, now 28, has made herself a household name, exceeding everyone’s expectations and reaching far past child star status. Let’s look at all she has accomplished since her Nickelodeon days.
She Consistently Puts Out Music
Palmer went from doing the theme song for True Jackson to amazing us with her vocal range in Joyful Noise, starring alongside Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton. The singer has stayed consistent, releasing two studio albums, three extended plays, three mixtapes, and twenty-eight singles. After being in and out of record deals, Palmer decided that taking control of her music career was appropriate, so she started Big Boss Entertainment.
When asked what she hopes to create with the label, the “Bossy” singer told Billboard, “For me, I’ve been in and out of the music system since I was 12, when I signed my first record deal. It’s about empowering myself. I always felt exploited. It depressed me for a while as an artist. I feel like we could build something new.
I’ve always been the kind of person to find a new way of doing things. Big Boss Entertainment and my label is just another part of me trying something new. I want to empower my peers so they also feel they’re not a part of the old way of doing things and be a part of the big bosses. Big Boss is about me helping expand and using what I know. I’m not always going to be Keke Palmer, the entertainer, but it’s meant for me to get outside and move to the forefront. That’s what I’m building towards.” (via Billboard)
She’s Done The Talk Show Thing
Raising the bar another notch, Palmer became the youngest talk show host in television history with her show Just Keke. The show was taped in Los Angeles and aired on BET, with twenty episodes. But the hosting didn’t stop there. In early 2019 Palmer began filling in on the national morning show Good Morning America.
The viewers took well to her personality. In August 2019, Palmer joined the program full-time alongside co-hosts Michael Strahan and Sara Haines. The show was renamed Strahan, Sara & Keke. Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the US, and the program was canceled on March 17, 2020. In an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Palmer spoke to Cohen about the show cancellation,
saying, “Here’s the thing, when the pandemic hit, that’s what became all on our minds, was the pandemic, corona ā understanding COVID. “So I knew that if our show came back, it would have to be much, much, much later because our show was really about an audience.” (via Deadline)
First Black Actress To Play Cinderella On Broadway
At twenty-one, most of us are out partying with our friends, but Plamer had other plans ditching the drinks for an iconic role as Cinderella on Broadway. Again, the actress keeps breaking records, becoming Broadway’s youngest and first African American Cinderella.
She Became A True ‘Scream Queen’
The Former Nickelodeon star gets back to the acting, playing Zayday Williams on Fox’s horror-comedy TV series Scream Queens. Her character Zayday is an Oakland native dedicated to fighting for justice. Her college roommate Grace, played by Skyler Samuels, convinces her to pleadge into Kappa House, the most popular sorority. Chaos erupts when the university gets hit by a string of murders. The last episode aired on December 20, 2016.
Oh, What a Star!
Palmer kept us locked into the Fox Network, making her debut on Lee Daniel’s hit series Star. In this music drama, the actress/singer plays the role of Gigi Nixon, an edgy recording artist with a bossy persona. The irony is that Palmer had the opportunity to debut her single Bossy on the show. The single is the first track off her yet-to-be-released album, The Boss, under her label, The Boss Entertainment. Her character Gigi showed us how real bosses do it with her sizzling performance.
She Can Write Too
The Emmy Award-winning actress has dived into writing with her self-help book I Don’t Belong To You. The book is an inspirational guide for young girls, encouraging them to take complete control of their lives and live confidently and freely. The contents include Palmer’s favorite journal entries, memes, and quotes.
That’s not all; Palmer has partnered with New York Times bestselling author Jasmine Guillory to write five short stories in a collection entitled Southern Belle Insults. The books series spawned from Palmer’s alter egos, which she acts out on her Instagram reels.
She Played a Pimp
Directed by Christine Crokos and executive produced by Lee Daniel, the film Pimp follows the story of a female pimp named Wednesday, played by Palmer. In the film, Wednesday takes over the family business after her father dies, played by the late DMX. T
his is not a role fans are used to seeing Plamer play. She admits that given her background and age at the time, director Crokos wasn’t sure if she’d be cut out for the role, being resilient Palmer took time to research the character, and even went back to her hometown of Chicago to meet with women who have either saw or personally experience things that pertained to the film. (Via The Wrap)
She Took her Place Amongst the ‘Hustlers’
Taking on another edgy role, Palmer joins JLo, Cardi B, and the other talented cast members in the movie Hustlers. The film is centered around the true story of several exotic dancers in New York City who scammed their way through Wallstreet by manipulating wealthy bankers. Palmer plays stripper Mercedes who has her hand in assisting with the schemes. Surprisingly, Palmer landed this role after director Lorene Scafaria fell in love with her posts on Instagram.
She starred in ‘Nope!’
Palmer joined Daniel Kalyuuya in Jordan Peele’s Sci-fi horror film Nope. Film critics praised Palmer for being able to show audiences her wide range of acting abilities. Her role as Emerald allowed her to show off her ability to balance comedy and drama.
KeyTV
This past fall, Palmer visited Instagram to announce her new digital platform network KeyTV. The Nope actress wrote, “I’ve been doing this for 20 years, but this is what I’m most proud of,” she said in the clip. “Y’all always say I keep a job, now I’m making sure we ALL got one. Sharing the keys to the culture is my greatest gift ā this is for you & for us, from me.” (Via Instagram)
She Birthed Her First Child
Palmer welcomed her first child into the world in 2023. She shares her son, Leodis Andrellton Jackson, with her boyfriend Darius Jackson, She shared an emotionally driven post about motherhood with her followers on Instagram on March 3.
She said, “I just came on here to say, if you’re a single parent, pull out your cake. Matter of fact, clip off your angel wings because I don’t know how you guys are doing it. And I really don’t want this to sound like pandering, or something like this, because I know there’s a million and one reason why somebody wants to be a single parent or has become a single parent.” Her video has pulled in more than 750,000 likes so far.
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