Lauren Keyana "Keke" Palmer

Born Lauren Keyana “Keke” Palmer, the Midwest native began acting and singing at a young age, first auditioning for a stage production of The Lion King at age nine.

Palmer gained notoriety with her first major film role in 2004’s Barbershop 2: Back in Business. After signing a deal with Atlantic Records in 2005, the young star made her acting breakthrough as Akeelah in Akeelah and the Bee in 2006.

Following parts in both TV and film projects like Madea’s Family Reunion (2006) and True Jackson, VP (2008 to 2011), the actress took on more mainstream success in the mid-2010s with recurring roles in Showtime’s Masters of Sex (2014) and FX’s Scream Queens (2015 to 2016). She also began guest-hosting ABC’s daytime talk show Strahan and Sara in 2019 with Michael Strahan, filling in for Sarah Haines during her maternity leave. Palmer was then made the third permanent cohost for the show which was renamed Strahan, Sara and Keke. It was abruptly canceled in May 2020.

Palmer began venturing into more arthouse/indie film territory with 2022’s Alice, which had its world premiere the Sundance Film Festival. She also costarred in Jordan Peele’s sci-fi horror film, Nope, with Daniel Kaluuya, which premiered in July 2022.

The Lightyear actress has remained relatively private about her personal life, but she went Instagram official with actor Darius Daulton in 2021. The pair sparked breakup rumors in March 2022, however, when both unfollowed each other on the platform and Palmer scrubbed her page of their previous photos together.

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The Nope actress confirmed her first pregnancy during her Saturday Night Live debut in December 2022. She and boyfriend Darius Jackson welcomed son Leodis Andrellton on February 25, 2023.