There seems to be a constant search for the newest young star and KeKe Palmer has placed herself as an obvious contender for the top spot. She was raised near Chicago and knew that she wanted to perform from a very young age. When she was nine, she got her chance to star in her first movie, which was the film Barbershop 2, Back in Business. It launched her young career, and she followed up the appearance with spots on the television shows Cold Case, Strong Medicine, Second Time Around, ER and Law and Order Special Victims Unit.

She was slowly building a reputation as one of the top young actresses to work with in the business, which was further reiterated when she appeared in Akeelah and the Bee in 2006. The movie cast her as the title character, acting alongside heavyweights like Laurence Fishburne and Angela Bassett. That same year, she appeared in Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion with Perry, Maya Angelou and Blair Underwood. Her appearances that year led to her winning an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Motion Picture, as well as the same award at the Black Movie Awards the same year and the Most Promising Newcomer nomination by the Chicago Film Critics.

She decided to expand her budding career in 2007 by releasing her debut album, So Uncool, as well as appearing on the Disney Mania 5 album. Her album ended up number 26 on the Top Heatseekers chart and number 86 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. To promote the album, Palmer played numerous cities at the halftime shows of the WNBA as well as being the headliner for the Disney 2007 Jingle Jam Tour. That same year, she appeared in the television movie Jump In! as well as other acting gigs. One of her latest projects is the television series True Jackson, VP where she plays the title character.