Keke Palmer Is Redefining Her Legacy

Since last night, Keke Palmer has been on the move. It's Tuesday afternoon, and she just got back to Los Angeles from a turnaround trip to Las Vegas. After arriving in Sin City late Monday evening, she squeezed in a few hours of rest before slipping into hair and makeup at 4:30 a.m. to glam up for an appearance at the Starbucks Leadership Experience, where she hyped up coffee makers competing in a global barista competition. By 9:00 a.m., she was on the road again, heading to the Universal Studios lot back in L.A. to shoot the final episode of season 1 of The 'Burbs, her upcoming Peacock series based on the 1989 cult-classic film of the same name.

Now, tucked in her trailer before stepping on set to film, she chats via Zoom. Despite her laid-back appearance—a gray Abercrombie & Fitch Super Bowl LIX sweatshirt, black-rimmed glasses, modest silver hoops, and a flawless no-makeup makeup look—Palmer's vibe is anything but. Her energy is up, and she's radiating pure, unwavering drive. "Even though it was a lot for today, I wanted my weekend off," she says of opting to keep it pushing and shoot today after getting up so early. "I said, 'I'll come in on my day off to finish up—finish strong.'"

Palmer is on a mission. She's determined to leave her mark on the entertainment industry as a trailblazer who acts, produces, sings, writes, and manages her own enterprise. These ventures require a lot of hustle, and she's here for it. "Anytime I am seen as a millennial diva, cultural phenomenon, prodigy, any of these titles somebody can throw out—I take it with so much pride," she says, tucking her sleek, chin-length bob behind her ears. "What I see my legacy to be is hopefully something that is a launching pad for others. I want nothing more than to do what I can when I can to represent something positive the best I can."

Since stepping into the spotlight as the inspiring title character in 2006's Akeelah and the Bee, the 31-year-old, born Lauren Keyana Palmer, has evolved into one of Hollywood's most dynamic talents. After cementing her status as a child star with the lead role in the Nickelodeon sitcom True Jackson, VP, she's gone on to star in hits like Hustlers, Nope, and One of Them Days. The sequel of the latter is in the works with Palmer—back to produce with Issa Rae—reprising her lead role in the buddy comedy alongside SZA. She's done all thiswhile making history as the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Host for a Game Show for her work on NBC's Password and releasing her New York Times best-selling memoir, Master of Me: The Secret to Controlling Your Narrative.

On the strength of her desire to triumph in show business, Palmer's slate remains packed. Her podcast, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer, is currently in its second season. This summer, she not only stars in Amazon MGM Studios' heist comedy The Pickup alongside Eddie Murphy and Pete Davidson, but she also released one of her most personal projects yet, her album Just Keke.

When Palmer began crafting her third record in early 2024, she knew she had a lot to say on it, but for the first time in her career, she wasn't sure how to get her point across. "I hadn't fully closed in on what my conversation was surrounding everything I had gone through that past year with my son and with my son's father," she admits. To tell her story through searing lyrics, she enlisted her longtime bestie Tayla Parx, who cowrote Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next," Khalid and Normani's "Love Lies," and Panic! at the Disco's "High Hopes." "I knew she would be able to help say what I needed to say for this album at this particular time in my life," Palmer says.

Back in the summer of 2023, Palmer's relationship with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson, with whom she welcomed son Leodis in February of that same year, became a focal point in the public eye following an incident at an Usher concert. The moment sparked a wave of media attention after Palmer's attire—a lace bodysuit—at the show was met with criticism from Jackson, an exchange that played out on social media. "It's the outfit tho.. you a mom," he wrote on Twitter. Four months later, Palmer filed a restraining order against Jackson, accusing him of domestic violence.