Keke Palmer

There was no time for outside activities, no time for vacation, no time for pause.

And as the pressure got greater, stage became my home.

Performing was the safest way for me to be free.

In my roles, I could embody joy, even briefly.

I could be True Jackson VP, working at a grown-up job, never really knew I could work this hard.

At the time, it was just a theme song I wrote.

I didn't know how I was transmuting.

In my roles, I could be sad.

I was allowed to be frustrated, although often disguised as humor.

Performing was safe.

because it didn't make people feel guilty about watching me carry the weight of adulthood far too early.

As the years flew by, I didn't just perform on stage.

I started performing off it too.

I began designing a character to survive my life.

That character is Kiki Palmer.

Approachable, capable, funny.

a small container my full range could exist inside of without overwhelming anyone.

And it worked.

That character has carried me through 23 years in this industry, through childhood fame, the transition into adulthood, through success I could have never imagined.

I even wrote a New York Times bestselling book about how I did it, how I became a master of me.