Keke Palmer says her real-life experience as a mom is influencing her latest role.
Appearing on Today on Monday, Feb. 2, the actress discussed her upcoming project The Burbs, in which she portrays a mother on screen for the first time.
Palmer, who shares her son Leodis with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson, said the role gave her “so much more than I knew it would.”
She continued, “I guess I should have expected it. After you have kids, it really does expand your heart in a way you can’t imagine until it happens,” she explained. “And so, I definitely put that into the character Samira for sure.”
During the conversation, Palmer also shared an update on her toddler son, who is approaching the end of his “terrible two” phase.
“He has a really crazy attitude,” she said. “He would tell me, ‘Mommy, what you doing for me? What you doing for me?’”
She noted that while her son is still speaking in “baby language,” she remains fully present for him. “I’m right there doing everything I can to make sure I show up,” she said.
Still, Palmer has acknowledged that showing up comes with its challenges. In October, she shared a series of photos on Instagram showing her and Leodis laughing and smiling together. While the images captured joyful moments, the caption offered a more candid reflection on motherhood.
She wrote, “This is to all my mother’s doing it on their own. Not as a moment of pity or as a badge of hardship because being a mother is difficult, period. I just want to acknowledge you!”
The entertainer went on to share encouragement she said she was also giving herself.
“You are doing good. You are capable. Your baby does love you. Your sacrifices are accounted for. God is with you,” she wrote. “Your prayers will be answered, keep praying. God is with you.”
She added that mothers are allowed to experience difficult periods without guilt.
“[We] are allowed to have a bad day, a bad week, a bad month,” Palmer said, explaining that children benefit from seeing parents express real emotions.
“It’s okay that they see we are human and we communicate our feelings. I would see my mom sad, I would see my dad sad, I watched them be human and I think I’m a better person because of it,” she said. “Sending you the love I’d like to receive but don’t ask for cause you know, mommas.”
