We can all agree that actor-singer-CEO-author-mother Keke Palmer works hard.
Palmer doesnt just know and accept herself; she activelymanagesherself.
The woman is willing to invest in herself in every sense of the word; ofcourseher future is bright.
Ferrari dress and gloves. Jimmy Choo shoes. J’evar earrings.
I can do it with the right mindset, with the right practices.
Nothing is the end of the world.
And shes realizing she actually has a lot more time than she felt she did in her 20s.
Ferrari dress and gloves. Jimmy Choo shoes. J’evar earrings.
I have a greater sense of perspective.
Theres also a level of contentmentI dont have to prove anything to anybody.
Master of Meis an exploration of what getting to such a rooted place looks like in practice.
The North Face coat, Helsa bodysuit, Bogner boots, J’evar earrings.
This outlook on the human experience has not only informed my work but creates the drive for it.
All of this from the woman who gave us Sorry to this man?
Baby, thats Keke Palmer.
Casablanca top and skirt, Brandon Blackwood shoes.
RWM: How are you doing today?
KP:Im doing good.
I was a little tiredmoving around so much, trying to get rest, minds not able to relax.
Fusalp ski suit, helmut and gloves. Lacoste shoes.
Ive also gotten addicted to Ancestry.com so I literally have been up all night doing that.
But other than that, Im really good.
Im in Atlanta getting ready to film a movie.
Maria McManus sweater, skirt, and balaclava. Giuseppe Zanotti boots. Arc Objects bracelet.
Wait, what got you into Ancestry.com?
I think I was just thinking about history, how my family moves and how its very village-esque.
And I started looking at the meeting of Westernism and African diasporic ideals as it pertains to Black Americans.
Casablanca top and skirt.
Oh, just casual!
That made me think about my history, my family.
And so then I was like,Well, maybe I could find more information.
Maria McManus sweater and balaclava. Arc Objects bracelet.
And I found myself on Ancestry.com and it goesfar.
Im literally up all night getting into it being like,Did yall know…?!
Is there anything youve found so far thats a little spooky or surprising?
So my grandmothers great-grandparents were…one of them was a biracial womanhalf-whiteand then the plantation owners son.
He wasnt married to her, obviously.
She was a free woman and she took him to court.
When I saw that, I was like,This makes so much sense.
Im going to find a way by any means necessary.
That was so shocking to me, at that time period.
And for someone like youthe entertainer, cracking jokesIm wondering if that ever affects you?
It does affect me.
I dont think that its received when Im crying, you know what I mean?
Or when Im really sad, or expressing it in this tender way.
But I do think that personalities are often made up of defense mechanisms.
You only can be yourself authentically in the way in which you are perceived.
It could be because youre a woman.
Now you have to take into account how people see you.
It doesnt mean that its not authentic to you.
I think this is why I was looking into [Ancestry.com].
Its very healing to know again that youre not alone.
So lets talk about your book (which is great).
I was hoping you could talk a little more about why you think folks might act this way.
I think people are like that because theyre bitter.
They havent learned to forgive; they havent learned to have compassion for others.
They havent learned that things werent personal.
And so what happens is they internalize it all and theyrereactingto life instead ofrespondingto life, I think.
Thats what leads to you being objective about whats happened to you.
Theres nobody thats going to come out unscathed.
We treat people how we treat ourselves.
Im a forgiving person.
Im a compassionate person because Im forgiving and compassionate to myself.
You know what I mean?
My dad always used to tell me, Keke, you hold a lot of grudges.
Thats not good for you.
Or he would say, You cant take everything personal.
Its not good for you.
I felt so isolated in my experience and I blamed everyone around me.
I never really told anybody.
I was just writing it in my journal.
I think thats what he was trying to help me understandthat these are typical growing pains.
Your parents are going to disappoint you, your siblings are going to disappoint you.
These are rites of passage.
Youre not going to be able to have unrealistic expectations.
Youre going to have to have grace for them and for you.
You mentioned isolation, and fame strikes me as something that could be a very lonely experience.
How I deal with it is to not center myself.
And thats what comes with fame.
That was probably the hardest part.
We all feel deeply, deeply alone.
Thats why many of us create families.
Thats why many of us find communities, groups to be a part of.
Thats why many of us find churches.
Shit, some of us find cults!
Were all alone, and were looking for a sense of shared aloneness.
And I think that essentially as an entertainer, its the same thing.
Theres a level of being ostracized through fame, but everybody goes through it.
Speaking of community: Who makes up yours?
Who are your people?
Outside of my family, I think itll be people that have a sense of faith.
Somebody needs a babysitter or a ride, and people jump in and offer to help.
Thats how I was raised.
We are here for what theyre saying, but we aint trying to hurt nobody.
We just want love.
We want a community for our kids.
And I make a run at make that clear in the book too.
I can only tell you how Ive gotten where Ive gotten based on my experience.
And for me, God is an integral part.
How I was raised in the Church is an integral part.
I have you in mind.
All Im saying is to define and outline your value system.
Im curious how you got therewhat helped you get through what sounds like a really destabilizing time?
I was in therapy.
I also worked out, was journaling a bit, and spending a lot of time with my family.
Family is everything to me, and my family has always been there for me.
Everybody done gone through hard times.
My mamas had four kids, my sisters had three.
Weve all dealt with hardship when it comes to mentally not feeling like you got it today.
And they were there for me.
They had my back.
You also write, I yearn to be truly selfish out loud, to experience normal struggles of adolescence.
I was being forced to grow up too quickly without the chance to experience the carefree joy of childhood.
Are you finding ways to get some of that childhood back?
I am, through my son and the things that we do together.
But I think an even greater way Im doing that is through controlling my narrative.
I love my parents.
We are doing this together.
So many people want to tell our stories, and its like, everybody got hardship.
And its like, yeah, theres struggles and theres hardship, but this isnt the tone I prefer.
What would you have liked to be talking about achieving?
Man, I just would love to have so much more to say around KeyTV, my company.
Hopefully, at some point, another kid.
I grew up with three siblings, so I think its really awesome when you have that.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Photography: Jason Kim.
Creative direction: Amber Venerable.
Wardrobe Stylist: Dione Davis.
Makeup: Kenya Alexis.
Hair Stylist: Rico Roberts.
Manicurist: Aja Walton.
Set Designer: Jacob Burstein.
Production: Melissa Kramer.
Profile editor: Alisa Hrustic.
Research director: Yulia Khabinksy.
