Keke Palmer's Parents Sharon & Larry Palmer Gave up Everything for Her

Sharon Palmer and Larry Palmer, Keke Palmer's parents, are why she works as hard as she does. As a child, she starred in major Disney and Nickelodeon properties and has graduated to more mature roles with a grace that is a testament to her upbringing.

Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer is an actress, singer, and producer who started her career in 2004 when she starred in "Barbershop 2: Back in Business." She proved she was made for Hollywood when she starred in "The Wool Cap" that same year.

For her outstanding performance, she became the youngest actress to receive a Screen Actors Guild nomination in the Lead Actress category. Two years later, she gave a breakthrough performance as the lead actress in "Akeelah and the Bee." She has since made her mark in the industry, starring in several series and movies.

Although Keke has become a success, she would not have made it far with her career without her parents. When her career kicked off, her parents drove their whole family of six cross-country for four days straight in a minivan to peruse the triple-threat's prospects in Hollywood.

She won her first Emmy in 2021 for "Turnt Up with the Taylors." Like the Kardashians have Kris Kardashian, Ashanti has her mom, Tina Douglas, and the "Big Mouth" star has a 'momager' in Sharon.

Keke Palmer's Parents Gave up Everything for Her

The actress was born in Harvey, Illinois, on August 26, 1993. Her parents gave up their steady jobs to move to a single-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles to chase her dreams. She tweeted on February 11, 2022:

"My parents gave up everything for me. I will work till I can't no more to assure that their sacrifices weren't in vain."

Keke vowed that "generational curses shall be overturned" in the name of God and signed the message as "Keke 'Keep A Bag' Palmer."

Keke's Mom Is Her Manager, and She's Passionate about Her Child

The mom of four still manages her daughter's career, which blossomed in 2004 when she acted as Queen Latifah's niece alongside other actors like Ice Cube, Cedric the Entertainer, Eve, and more in "Barbershop 2: Back in Business."

Despite managing her daughter, Sharon knows her role and respects that it is Keke's career. She said that mutual respect is what makes their business relationship work.

The "momager" never found walking into a room full of industry people in suits intimidating. "Because I'm from Chicago," she quipped in a "TODAY" interview.

She is mindful that some execs in the industry do not like dealing with parents, but as the one who taught Keke how to walk and talk, Sharon does not know how to "not be passionate" about her child.

Keke's resilience inspired Sharon after not being cast in a "The Lion King" production at nine. Sharon said that made her feel that her daughter had the strength to navigate the challenges of the entertainment industry.

She got visibly emotional in an interview when explaining her motivations behind letting her daughter enter the entertainment industry at a young age.

A friend encouraged her to take Keke to commercial auditions because that was how she sent her daughter to university. Sharon says:

"I did it so she could go to college. I never expected any of this. I didn't do it for money or fame. […] I wanted my kids to go to college. And I wanted them to have a better life."

In her memoir, "I Don't Belong to You," the actress wrote that being the primary breadwinner as a child gave her some anxiety. Sharon told her child she could give it up, but the then-teenager still loved what she did.

The manager sees "True Jackson, VP" and "Hustlers" as big turning points in her daughter's career. Appearing on "The Talk" in March 2022, Keke said that she gets the confidence she is famous for from her mom.

She explained this assertion by telling how Sharon reacted when she saw her in the feature "Alice" that was released in 2022:

"That was a clinic in acting. They can do a sermon in school about what you did!"

Keke's Parents Are in Long-Time Marriage and Have 4 Kids Together

Larry and Sharon were married for 33 years in 2021 and had been together for 35 years at the time of her 2021 interview. Keke was a nickname her elder sister Loreal "L.C." Palmer bestowed on her. The couple also has twins named Lawrence Palmer and Lawrencia Palmer.

The Palmers lived in a low-income neighborhood in Cook County, but their Christian faith kept the family grounded and motivated to achieve more incredible things.

Sharon explained in March 2021 that while the conversation in the neighborhood was about crime, the Palmer family spoke about their faith in God, reinforcing the notion that they can be achievers, not becoming a product of their environment, and never allowing themselves to become a stereotype.

Keke's Mom Describes Her as a Child of Constant Questions

As a child, Keke was curious about the world around her. She peppered her mother with "constant questions" about things like the color of the sun and the hues of other phenomena and objects that caught her big eyes.

Keke Palmer was still finding balance in her life.

Sharon never made her daughter feel like she could stop asking questions. Instead, she gave the "Akeelah and the Bee" star and her other children "permission to be themselves" as she nurtured their natural curiosity.

Now Keke Is Also a Mom, and She Opened up about This Role in Her Life

The "It's My Turn Now" singer had her first child with her boyfriend, Darius Jackson, in February 2023, Leodis Andrellton Jackson. She took her "Mookie Mook" for a stroll on March 20, 2023, and posted the snaps with an update on how "mommy'ing" was going:

"I have juggled quite a few careers, but this is my greatest gig of all. [...] I will never be the same again, but if you thought I was a bad mama jamma before, you can't imagine the greater purpose my son has given my life!"

As a first-time mom, Keke Palmer revealed during her March 2023 stroll that she was still finding balance in her life. However, she enjoys certain aspects of her new life, like "fake shopping" for "mom stuff."

The actress, who has been earning since she was a child, enjoys browsing all the new products now available for new moms online and adding them to her cart even though she is yet to order them.