Keke Palmer has built an impressive career in Hollywood, growing up in the spotlight on both television and film.
Supported by key figures in Black Hollywood who recognized her talent early on, Palmer has achieved significant milestones, including becoming a six-time NAACP Image Award winner. She also made history as the first African American woman and the youngest person to play Cinderella on Broadway, and she became the youngest person to host a television talk show in 2014.
Tyler Perry was one of the key figures who believed in Palmer’s potential, casting her in his film “Madea’s Family Reunion” when she was just 11 years old.
Recently, Palmer invited Perry to her podcast, “Baby, This Is Keke Palmer,” where they discussed his career, his dedication to nurturing Black talent, and their experiences working together.
Thanks, Tyler
She expressed her gratitude, saying, “That was the first time that I have ever been in a movie, and it introduced this for me in business. And I thank you so much for this, where whatever the movie did you gave me extra money in the backend and that’s big.”
The “Akeelah and the Bee” star, who currently has a net worth of $7.5 million, continued, “I really wanted to point that out because that’s not something that people are always doing, and that was very early on in my career.”
“I was no big name or anything like that. It was not necessarily something that was my birthright, but for that to happen in that movie and for it to have been such a success — that extra money, what it did for my family and how it allowed me to maintain my time in California, moving from Chicago, (IL),”’ she continued.
Adding, “I mean we had nothing, and for you to do that it was just really amazing so I just wanted to mention that ‘cause I never forgot that.”
Being a part of a film that made over $63 million at the box office set Palmer up for success.
One the episode, both Palmer and Perry reflected on their time on set, emphasizing the importance of creating a supportive and family like environment.
“Everybody felt like my aunties and uncles and cousins and just family and friends,” Palmer recalled, but asked how he deals with helping people who either don’t want to be helped or turn their back on you.
Perry said, “It’s usually the very people that you invest the most in, that you try and help the most, that will be the same ones who turn around and try to destroy you,” but he has learned how to discern certain relationships and when to let people go that don’t want the best for you or for themselves.
Palmer’s early career success, particularly her role in “Madea’s Family Reunion,” set the stage for her future achievements. Following this film, she starred in “True Jackson, VP,” earning $20,000 per episode and becoming one of the highest-paid child stars on television at the time, according to The Things.
In 2022, Palmer launched her own company, Key TV, to provide opportunities for creatives in film and digital media. She has modeled her approach on Perry’s, focusing on entrepreneurship, ownership, and collaboration.
Also, Palmer continues to thrive as an actress, recently being cast alongside SZA in Issa Rae’s upcoming project with TriStar. The untitled project also includes talents like Lil Rel Howery, Janelle James, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Keyla Monterroso Mejia, Maude Apatow, and Katt Williams, according to Deadline.
Things just don’t stop for the multi-phenate and that’s because people like Perry believed in her.
