Keke Palmer Says Postpartum Is a 'Lifelong Thing' as She Shares How Motherhood Prepared Her for Role in “The Burbs ”(Exclusive)
- - Keke Palmer Says Postpartum Is a 'Lifelong Thing' as She Shares How Motherhood Prepared Her for Role in “The Burbs ”(Exclusive)
Kayla Grant, Brenton BlanchetFebruary 10, 2026 at 12:58 AM
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Keke Palmer as Samira in 'The Burbs'; Keke Palmer and her son Leo
Elizabeth Morris/PEACOCK; Sara Jaye/Getty for Holiday Inn Express
Keke Palmer is sharing how she channeled her own motherhood journey for her new role
While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of her new project, The Burbs, the actress opens up about how she channeled her own motherhood journey during her first role portraying a mom on-screen
Palmer welcomed her son with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson
Keke Palmer is sharing how she channeled her own motherhood journey for her new role.
While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of her new project, The Burbs, the One of Them Days actress, 32, opens up about how she used her own experience as a mom while portraying a mother for the first time on-screen. The actress and singer is a mother to son Leodis, 2, whom she welcomed in February 2023 with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson.
"I definitely did. I mean, I think postpartum is something that we think just happens in the beginning after a mom has a baby, but it's like a lifelong thing," she explains. "So, I think going back to that beginning stage of remembering what it was like when my son Leodis was first born and just that protectiveness and how it became something that made every bit of danger become that much more fearful and that much more large."
"And I think the reality for [my character] Samira is that the danger is real, but where it's placed and how to engage with it is the part that becomes difficult, especially after becoming a new mom," Palmer continues. "But I definitely related it to just that protectiveness."
Keke Palmer and Leo
Keke Palmer/Instagram
The Nope actress recently made an appearance on the Monday, Feb. 2 episode of Today to talk more about her latest project. Palmer shared that playing a mother in her latest project "gave me so much more than I knew it would."
“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.”
Elsewhere in the conversation, the doting mom gave an update on her toddler son, who turns 3 at the end of February. She joked that her son is "being terrible" as he rounds out his "terrible two" stage.
"He has a really crazy attitude. He would tell me, ‘Mommy, what you doing for me? What you doing for me?’ " she said with a bright smile. "He’s speaking his baby language, but I’m right there doing everything I can to make sure I show up.”
Keke Palmer and Leo
Keke Palmer/Instagram
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Since welcoming Leo, the actress hasn't shied away from posting about him on social media. Between silly videos and heartfelt tributes, Palmer has been relishing in motherhood.
"Mommy’ing is coming along if you were looking for an update. I have juggled quite a few careers but this is my greatest gig of all," Palmer wrote on Instagram in March 2023. "I will never be the same again, but if you thought I was a bad mama jamma before, you can’t imagine the greater purpose my son has given my life!"
While talking to PEOPLE in August 2024, Palmer said that she tries to take Leo "every-single-where I go" so that she can maintain the "closeness" she has with her son so far.
“The grace of a career like mine — and, obviously, his age — is just that he can be with me,” she said. “So I'm grateful for that. I think I wanna just continue to be able to just do that and have him with me and do things together and make sure that he feels part of my life and sees what I'm doing."
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
