Keke Palmer: All About The Actress, Singer, And New Mom

Keke Palmer, 29, the triple threat can now add mom to her many roles, as her acting and singing have already made her a standout both in life and on screen. Making her debut in the 2004 film Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Palmer quickly became likable from her honest and kind demeanor, making her a favored co-star to want to be around.

Making a transition to television in the same year of her movie debut, Palmer ultimately went on to star in multiple Nickelodeon series like True Jackson, VP and Winx Club. When she displayed how raw her skill was at such a young age, Palmer continued to succeed in the industry with more serious roles that would later catapult her into the respected actress she is today. Starring in films like Akeelah and the Bee, Madea's Family Reunion, Jump In!, and The Longshots, Palmer has spent most of her life in the film world.

When her adult life came around, so did the adult roles. No age could define Palmer on screen, as her ability has transcended into one of the greats. Taking on roles next to Tyler Perry, Queen Latifah, Whoopie Goldberg, Julia Stiles and Ice Cube, Palmer was able to gain versatile parts in films like Alice, Hustlers, and Nope. Palmer has also been a voice over actress in films like Lightyear, Unstable Fables: Tortoise vs. Hare, and multiple movies from the Ice Age franchise. Displaying even more skill, Palmer has taken her career a step further into the musical world with a 2014 role as the first African American Princess to star in a title role as Cinderella on Broadway. With Rolling Stones calling her assertive and confident with a “biting sense of humor,” Palmer stays contributing her love for acting in every role she is given.

In an effortless steez, Palmer epitomizes true passion behind the screen saying, “I can't even tell anyone how it feels when I'm acting, I don't mean to say that I don't have to try. But there's something in my heart that explodes, and I feel like I understand. When I'm acting, I feel like so in control and so centered. This is something that I solely get from acting and music.”

Not only has Palmer paved her own way as an actress, but she has also grounded herself as a singer and songwriter. Her 2007 debut album So Uncool charted on Billboard’s Top R&B & HipHop Albums list and was released under her contract with Atlantic Records. Palmer explains her love for music with, “Whether it be in acting, music, or even in dancing, I only want to do things that I truly connect to, and with my music, it's everything that I am.” Though she’s now signed to Island Records, Palmer has released albums Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 1, and Virgo Tendencies, Pr. 2 along with multiple singles over the course of the previous years. 

Palmer started dating boyfriend, Darius Jackson, 29, after meeting at Rae and Diddy’s Memorial Day Party in 2021. Keeping their relationship private for only a few months, the couple have remained close since their first encounter. Telling Bustle in an interview, Palmer says, “This is the happiest I’ve ever felt with someone. So why would I go out of my way to hide this person? That's a lot more work than just living in my life and being in my life. You know what I'm saying?”

Being in the entertainment industry as well, Jackson is both an actor and fitness trainer. Attending Fresno State University on a football scholarship, Jackson continued in the footsteps of his older brother Saranus Jackson who played sports before launching his acting career in 2017 in the series Insecure. Though he hasn’t much acting fame, Jackson can be linked to the upcoming sci-fi film Dawn of the Predator as Agent Mayo. In the film, a group of agents are deployed to a robot-controlled territory, and upon their attempt to retrieve technology from an alien crash, they are faced with war against the aliens. 

Though acting and singing may have been the prevalence of Palmer’s whole life, her newest role as ‘mom’ may be her most important one yet. Palmer gave birth on February 25, 2023 to a healthy baby boy, Leodis Andrellton Jackson. Though it’s a first time being a parent for Palmer, she stays happily grateful for her experience, taking to social media to say, “"Hey Son!!!! Born during Black History Month, with a name to match! LEODIS ANDRELLTON JACKSON, welcome to the world baby Leo."

Though Palmer is most focused on being a new mom with her longtime boyfriend, Jackson, she still has her eyes set on new horizons after earning a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host for her appearance alongside Michael Strahan on Strahan, Sara, and Keke from 2019-2020. Palmer told Bustle she envisions herself giving back to her community in the near future by interning a plethora of young black adults for the directing and producing of films saying, “I imagine myself directing movies and producing films and having a bunch of different interns that are just in college.”

Continuing, “Young, black kids that are learning how to be a grip, that are learning how to be a DP, that are learning how to work in production, or as a designer, or people that are learning how to be a teamster, I really want to educate the young kids on the fact that you don't just have to work in Hollywood as a performer, or as a writer, or as a director — your ass could be a crafty.”

With 20 years in the industry, Palmer has exhibited the essence of a true star. In following her own advice, “You can do anything as long as you don't stop believing. When it is meant to be, it will be. You just have to follow your heart,” Palmer continues to thrive as a new mom still wanting to work, as her love for acting and singing is endless.