We grew up with KeKe Palmer, watching her first film appearance in “Barbershop 2: Back in Business” as Gina’s (played by Queen Latifah) niece. Later that year, she appeared in the television show “Wool Cap,” where she snatched the title of the youngest ever nominated for SAG’s Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a TV Movie or Miniseries.
But her breakout moment was created when we fell in love with her performance as an 11-year old spelling bee champ from the Southside of LA: Akeelah Anderson in “Akeelah and the Bee.”
Palmer has been a household name in the black community, and she is known for booking a role and keeping a job. But now, Lauren “Keke-Keep-a-Job” Palmer is taking it a step further and making them available for others with the launch of KeyTV, a digital television network aimed to “unlock a door to unlock a million doors for each other.”
The multi-skilled talent announced the launch of her platform with an impressive teaser video on Instagram. In the promo, it starts by allowing Palmer to reintroduce herself as Lauren Palmer, (okay, government name!), and proceeds to take us through various versions of herself doing the things she does best.
We watch her boast her talents of hosting, personal branding, acting, singing, writing, and directing—at which point she breaks the fourth wall by yelling “cut,” and breaks the news of her newest venture: becoming a media mogul. As she discusses the goals of KeyTV, we see the very behind-the-scenes talent that her newfound company is hoping to collaborate with in action in the background.
KeyTV is just another step in a constant up and up of the star’s career, as she continued to rise to child-star prominence with roles in Tyler Perry’s “Madea’s Family Reunion,” Disney’s “Jump In!” “The Longshots,” and “Shrink;” voice acting in multiple Ice Age movies; becoming the first black Cinderella on Broadway, and dropping her first studio album titled “So Uncool” in 2007.
Nickelodeon became a big part of her story as a teen, where she voiced Aishia in the Nickelodeon “Winx” revival, starred in the film “Rags,” and played the main character of the sitcom “True Jackson, VP.” The impact was truly set in stone after securing a clothing line for teen girls in Walmart. Raise your hand if you ever stunted in your “Mad Style” fit!
Her momentum never stopped after acting as a child, as she began to take on mature roles in notable biographical films like VH1’s “CrazySexyCool: The TLC Story” and “Abducted: The Carlina White Story.” She tackled horror in “Scream” and “Scream Queens,” comedies and dramas consisting of “Brotherly Love,” “Joyful Noise,” 2 Minutes of Fame,” “Pimp,” and “Hustlers.” This year, we see her as Alice and Emerald Haywood in the most recent films “Alice” and “Nope,” and teasing our inner child as the voice-actor for Izzie Hawthorne in Pixar’s “Lightyear.”
In addition to acting, Palmer has released several EPs, made a name for herself in entertainment hosting, and has established a strong social media presence with her Emmy-award-winning web television show on Facebook, “Turnt up with the Taylors,” and influencer collaborations with brands like Vogue, McCormick, Android, Meta, and UGG.
The category is resume. Talk about STACKED!
Palmer has established quite the repertoire in the entertainment industry over her career: Personality, musician, Emmy-nominated television host, and Emmy award-winning actress. KeyTV is yet another venture we cannot wait to see our favorite TV cousin excel in.
Now that we’ve gotten all the details, the audience wants to know… where are the applications, Ms. Palmer?!
