From the small screen to the Broadway stage, and on to the largest IMAX screens in the world, Keke Palmer’s star power is undeniable. The industry veteran has been working consistently since the tender age of 11, and her ability to remain booked and busy creating every year thereafter, has gained her the reputation of being Miss “Keep a Bag,” effortlessly.
Though the mainstream is just starting to recognize her place, Keke has long been an on-screen queen as far as our community is concerned. From her early child acting days in titles like Barbershop 2, Akeelah and the Bee, and True Jackson, V.P. to her adult life work as a talk show host on GMA3, and Hollywood heavy hitter in titles like NOPE, Keke Palmer has BEEN that girl.
Take a look at the roles that made her a star below:
01
Barbershop 2: Back In Business, 2004
Just 11 years old, Keke Palmer stepped onto the big screen for the first time in the sequel to the breakout hit comedy, Barbershop, playing the niece of Queen Latifah’s character.
02
Akeelah and the Bee, 2006
Keke’s major breakout role came at the tender age of 13, when she starred opposite Angela Bassett and Laurence Fishburne as Akeelah, a bright 11-year-old with big dreams of competing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.
03
True Jackson V.P., 2008-2011
Keke appeared as the original Millennial girlboss, starring in her very own Nickelodeon show as a 15-year-old girl plucked from her lemonade stand to be Vice President of a thriving fashion brand’s youth apparel division.
04
CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story, 2013
Palmer’s first adult role found her stepping into the biopic shoes of one of the ’90s most iconic girl-group members, Rozonda ‘Chilli’ Thomas. The range of emotion she displayed for the Vh1 flick sent the actress to the next level.
05
Scream Queens, 2015-2016
The starlet put her horror chops to work on the Fox horror-comedy-mystery series, as a killer stalked her and her friends across a college campus.
06
Star, 2017-2019
Keke spiced up the screen as Gigi Nixon on Fox’s hit recording studio drama, Star.
07
Hustlers, 2019
As exotic dancer/scam queen Mercedes, Keke brought her signature flavor to the tale of dancers capitalizing off their inebriated Wall Street clientele in the early days of the national recession.
08
NOPE, 2022
Keke solidified her A-list status with her role as zealous Hollywood horse heir Emerald Haywood in Jordan Peele’s highly anticipated horror thriller.
