Take Heed: The wisdom KeKe Palmer’s mother shared with her will bless your life
Actress KeKe Palmer and her mom Sharon Palmer (Credit: EEW Magazine)
By Devin Harris // Entertainment // EEW Magazine Online
Scripture says, “Ask and you shall receive,” but there’s a Black mom version of the familiar Bible verse that has helped Hollywood star, KeKe Palmer, remain successful in her career for nearly two decades – and will bless your life, too.
When the 28-year-old actress was growing up, her mom, Sharon — also her manager — often repeated this phrase: "Closed mouths don't get fed," which taught the star early in life to "seize the day," she told PEOPLE in an interview.
What wonderful advice to share with her daughter, especially because women are often taught to be passive and low key, and wait for opportunities to come to them which is a recipe for failure.
If you want something, sis, you’ve got to pray about it, believe for it, lean into it the opportunity, and go get it.
Credit: GMA
Palmer, whose diverse resume includes television, movies, music, books, and Broadway, recently put mom Sharon’s advice into action in the hopes of getting another opportunity to work with 43-year-old Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker, Jordan Peele.
She first worked with the Get Out writer, co-producer and director a decade ago on an episode of Key & Peele.
"I definitely did slide into his DMs,” said Palmer, who uses direct messaging to communicate on the popular Instagram app. Unlike the millennial who spends lots of time on social media, she said Jordan is “not on Instagram all day and during the night. So, he never even saw that direct message.”
Even though Peele never saw her request, he already wanted to collaborate with Palmer again – and she is now the lead actress in his upcoming horror movie Nope, written and directed by Peele.
"Him continuing to see my work is what manifested my opportunity with Nope," she said.
KeKe Palmer landed a role in Jordan Peele’s upcoming horror movie, Nope, manifesting a dream. (Credit: Getty via EEW Magazine)
Palmer is no stranger to the biblical principle of asking and receiving and the Black mama principle of opening her mouth. She once reached out to Insecure creator, Issa Rae, who cast Palmer in season 5 of the wildly successful HBO series. It aired its final episode last December.
Palmer, whose latest project is voicing an aspiring space ranger in the upcoming Toy Story spinoff film Lightyear, stays booked and busy because she is unafraid to put herself out there and make things happen.
Aside from giving good advice, both of Palmer's parents were instrumental in steering her toward Hollywood after seeing their daughter’s boundless energy.
"I was one of those kids that was always bouncing off the walls, and I think my parents were like, 'She's a little crazy, but she's gifted. Let's try to figure out how to help her channel this.' For me, that was the entertainment industry," said Palmer. "In this space, my crazy is welcome."
Over the past 18 years, since she first won our hearts as Queen Latifah's niece in the 2004 movie Barbershop 2: Back in Business, she has been racking up roles like Akeelah and the Bee and the Jennifer Lopez hit Hustlers, as well as television shows including the Nickelodeon series True Jackson VP and the Fox horror-comedy Scream Queens.
Palmer also served as a judge on season 3 of the voguing competition series Legendary on HBO Max and will host NBC's reboot of the classic game show Password in August.
"You never want to get stagnant," Palmer said. Well, if she keeps on opening her mouth, she never will.
