Keke Palmer
Born 1993 · Age 32
American actress, singer, and television personality; child actor who transitioned to film, Broadway, music and TV hosting; multi-hyphenate entertainer and entrepreneur.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Harvey, Illinois
Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer was born to Sharon and Lawrence Palmer and raised in Robbins, Illinois in a Catholic household.
First sang in church choir
Sang in church and performed publicly as a child; early vocal development noted by family.
Auditioned for The Lion King stage production
At age nine Palmer auditioned for a stage production of The Lion King (Chicago area).
Screen Actors Guild nomination (youngest lead nominee)
IMDb notes she earned a Screen Actors Guild nomination for her work on The Wool Cap and was, at the time, the youngest actress nominated in a Lead Actress category.
Film debut in Barbershop 2
Made her big-screen debut as Queen Latifah's niece in Barbershop 2: Back in Business.
Starred in TNT's The Wool Cap
Booked and appeared opposite William H. Macy in the TNT movie The Wool Cap; accoladed as an early dramatic success.
Signed record deal with Atlantic Records
Entered a recording contract with Atlantic Records as a rising child performer.
TV appearances: Knights of the South Bronx, ER, Second Time Around
Featured in multiple TV projects and continued building screen credits.
Won Black Reel Award for Akeelah and the Bee
Received recognition from the Black Reel Awards for her breakout performance.
Breakthrough lead role in Akeelah and the Bee
Starred as Akeelah Anderson, earning critical praise and multiple awards and nominations.
Won NAACP Image Award for Akeelah and the Bee
Received NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture for Akeelah and the Bee.
Appeared in Madea's Family Reunion
Played a supporting role (Nikki) in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion, a box-office #1 film for two weeks.
Won ShoWest Rising Star Award
IMDb notes she received a ShoWest Award for Rising Star of the Year following her breakout work.
Starred in Disney Channel's Jump In!
Lead role in the Disney Channel movie Jump In!, expanding her family/teen audience profile.
Released debut studio album 'So Uncool'
Debut album So Uncool released; it charted at No. 86 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
Wrote and performed True Jackson theme song; $20,000 per episode salary
Reportedly earned $20,000 per episode on True Jackson, making her one of television's highest-paid child stars.
Began starring in Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP
Took the lead role as True Jackson; series premiered to ~4.8 million viewers and ran 2008–2011.
Starred in The Longshots
Lead role as Jasmine Plummer in the feature film The Longshots opposite Ice Cube.
Walmart clothing line inspired by True Jackson (Mad Style)
Designer Jane Siskin created a Walmart fashion line inspired by True Jackson, all designs approved by Palmer.
Representative for 'Saving Our Daughters' anti-bullying campaign
By 2010 she served as a representative for the Saving Our Daughters project, an anti-bullying initiative.
Voiced Aisha in Nickelodeon revival of Winx Club
Became voice of Aisha for Nickelodeon's revival, continuing voice work through 2014; earned NAACP Image Award nomination for voice work.
Starred in Joyful Noise and voiced Peaches in Ice Age: Continental Drift
Appeared in Joyful Noise (released Jan 2012) and provided voice for Peaches in Ice Age: Continental Drift.
Headlined TV musical film 'Rags' and released single 'You Got Me'
Produced and starred in Rags; released single 'You Got Me' (feat. Kevin McCall) July 2012 and self-titled mixtape Oct 1, 2012.
Portrayed Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story
Starred in VH1 biopic which aired in October 2013, marking a mainstream dramatic role as a real-life music star.
Host of BET daytime talk show 'Just Keke'
Became one of the youngest daytime talk show hosts in television history with Just Keke on BET.
Starred in horror film 'Animal'
Animal was released June 17, 2014; continued to expand into more adult film roles.
Broadway debut as Ella in Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella
Made history as the youngest person and first African American to star as Cinderella on Broadway; ran until Jan 4, 2015.
Signed with Island Records
Announced she had signed a record deal with Island Records to further her music career.
Starred in Scream Queens
Joined Ryan Murphy's Fox satirical horror series Scream Queens (2015–2016) as Zayday Williams.
Appeared in Grease: Live as Marty Maraschino
Performed in the television special Grease: Live (Jan 2016); performance noted by Rolling Stone.
Released album 'Waited to Exhale' (unreleased material) and EP 'Lauren'
Released Waited to Exhale (material written earlier) and visual EP Lauren (Nov 4, 2016) accompanied by a short film on Billboard.
Published memoir 'I Don't Belong to You'
Released first book I Don't Belong to You: Quiet the Noise and Find Your Voice on January 31, 2017.
Signed with UTA (talent agency)
Keke Palmer signed with the United Talent Agency in May 2017.
Joined Berlin Station (Epix) season 2
Began a main role (April Lewis) on the drama series Berlin Station in its second season.
Launched independent record label Big Boss Entertainment
Started her own independent label Big Boss Entertainment after experiences with earlier labels.
Starred in Hustlers (2019)
Played Mercedes in Hustlers, a high-profile crime drama that increased her mainstream visibility.
Joined Good Morning America's third hour as guest co-host, became permanent co-host
Began guest co-hosting Strahan and Sara in April 2019 and became a permanent third co-host Aug 26, 2019; show retitled Strahan, Sara and Keke.
Included in Time '100 Next' / Time listing (2019)
Named by Time magazine (2019) among rising/influential people in the world.
Voiced and performed 'Giants' as part of True Damage for League of Legends Worlds
Sang as part of virtual group True Damage (character Senna); song performed live during the World Championship finals in November 2019.
Public disclosure of past abortion (YouKnowMe campaign)
In 2019 she shared via Twitter as part of the #YouKnowMe campaign that she had had an abortion at age 24.
Participated in George Floyd protests and spoke out on BLM
Marched in Hollywood (June 2020) and addressed the Black Lives Matter movement in events and in her VMAs monologue.
Released EP 'Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 1'
Released Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 1 on August 28, 2020 during a busy year of digital projects.
Hosted short-lived 'Singled Out' reboot on Quibi
Hosted a reboot of MTV's Singled Out for Quibi with Joel Kim Booster as co-host during Quibi's brief operation.
Starred in web series Turnt Up with the Taylors
Created and starred in the web series where she performed multiple characters; series later earned awards recognition.
Strahan, Sara and Keke ended due to COVID-19 disruptions
ABC shifted the timeslot during the pandemic; show ended in March 2020.
Hosted the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards
Hosted the VMAs and performed her song 'Snack' live at the August 30, 2020 broadcast.
Released EP 'Virgo Tendencies, Pt. 2'
Released a follow-up EP in December 2020.
Hosted 'Foodtastic' on Disney+
Served as host of the Disney+ reality competition series Foodtastic.
Launched KeyTV Network (digital content platform)
Launched KeyTV Network, her own online entertainment content platform.
Won Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series
Won a Primetime Emmy for her performance in Turnt Up with the Taylors (short-form category).
Began dating Darius Jackson
Publicly began a relationship with fitness instructor Darius Jackson (reported June 2021).
Voice acting in franchise animation (Ice Age series & others)
Continued recurring voice role as Peaches in Ice Age sequels (2012, 2016) and other animation voice roles through 2022.
Breakout film role in Jordan Peele's 'Nope'
Starred as Emerald 'Em' Haywood in Nope; performance won New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Voiced Izzy Hawthorne in Pixar's Lightyear
Provided the voice of Izzy Hawthorne in Lightyear, a Toy Story spinoff film.
Starred in 'Alice' world premiere at Sundance
Appeared in Alice, which had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.
Narrator of HBO Max documentary 'Not So Pretty'
Served as the narrator for the investigative beauty-industry documentary Not So Pretty.
Debuted as host of NBC's 'Password' reboot
Began hosting NBC reboot of the game show Password; Jimmy Fallon served as executive producer and regular celebrity guest.
Voiced Cece Dupree in Karma's World special episodes
Voiced a recurring antagonist Cece Dupree in select episodes of Karma's World.
Hosted Saturday Night Live; pregnancy reveal in monologue
Hosted SNL on Dec 3, 2022 and revealed in her opening monologue that she was expecting her first child.
Released studio album 'Big Boss'
Released the studio album Big Boss in 2023 and embarked on the Big Boss Tour that year.
Gave birth to son Leodis Andrellton (Leo)
Welcomed her first child, a son named Leodis 'Leo' Andrellton Jackson (reported late Feb 2023).
Invited to join The Academy (AMPAS)
Announced as one of the 398 new Academy members invited in June 2023.
Starred in Usher's 'Boyfriend' music video
Appeared as the lead in Usher's music video 'Boyfriend' released August 16, 2023.
Separated from Darius Jackson
Announced separation in October 2023 following alleged incidents of domestic violence during the relationship.
Granted temporary restraining order and temporary sole custody (filed)
In November 2023 Palmer was granted a temporary restraining order against Darius Jackson and temporary sole custody of their son (later dropped).
Nomination and recognition: NAACP Image / other industry honors (ongoing)
Throughout her career Palmer has accrued multiple NAACP Image Award nominations/wins and other industry honors; continued recognition in 2024–2025.
Dropped restraining order requests; hearing canceled
In May 2024 she dropped the requests related to the temporary restraining order and the domestic violence hearing was canceled.
Spoke onstage at the 28th Annual Webby Awards
Appeared and spoke onstage during the Webby Awards in New York, a notable speaking engagement (May 13, 2024).
Started girl group DivaGurl
Announced the formation of girl group DivaGurl in June 2024; Palmer is lead singer.
Announced second book 'Master of Me'
Announced Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on August 5, 2024; described as a hybrid memoir and self-help manual.
Released book 'Master of Me'
Published Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative on November 19, 2024.
Estimated net worth reported by external sources
As reported by Celebrity Net Worth in media coverage, her net worth estimated around $7.5 million (as cited by sources in 2024–2025 press).
Co-headlined film 'One of Them Days' with SZA; critical acclaim
Co-headlined the 2025 film One of Them Days (credited as also executive producer) and received widespread critical acclaim.
Key Achievement Ages
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