Keke Palmer Has a Unique Take on Raising a Nepo Baby — & if Anyone Could Make It Work, It’s Her
Everyone has different opinions on nepo babies. Some celebrities try to prevent their kids from growing up entitled to fame and fortune, while some children of celebrities benefit from nepotism in their lives and careers — but deny it had any real impact. Most people agree that having a famous last name will open doors that are normally shut for others, despite how hard they might have to work after that. Keke Palmer, who is raising her own nepo baby Leo, 2, has a different take, though. She is fully leaning into the idea of encouraging Leo to follow in her entertainment footsteps, and we are totally on her side.
The Dread Manor star is the cover star of Marie Claire’s The Mogul Issue this month, where she chats about her various business projects and acting career. When she was asked how she feels “about becoming a nepo mother,” Palmer laid out her future plans for her son.
“Girl. The job was made for me,” the Good Fortune star shared. “I was talking to the lady that was doing my hair and makeup, and I’m like, Girl, we’ve seen child actors but have we seen child directors? So now I’m on Leo being a baby director, we’ve never seen that. He could be the first child director. That one eats down.”
“If he was 15, directing major motion films? Saying, ‘I started directing at the age of five. First it was shorts and TikToks and Reels, and by the age of 10, I was directing my first feature starring…’” she continued.
The interview finished the sentence for her, suggesting, “My own mom,” and Palmer agreed.
“How good would that be?” Palmer said. “So I already have his career worked out. I would love for Leo to be into the family business somehow. I look at Estée Lauder and how her company is still being run by her sons, and that’s the kind of work I’m trying to do.”
It’s almost refreshing to hear a celebrity being so open about getting their own kid set up to follow in their footsteps. She knows she’s famous, and she wants to set her son up for life too by giving him opportunities for a standout career. What mom can’t relate to that feeling?
Elsewhere in the interview, Palmer chatted about how lucky she is to be able to bring Leo with her to work. She shared that she has tried “to create things, learn things, and do things that allow me to be able to still make a living, but also not always be away all the time.”
“Luckily, I am in an industry that is somewhat—I don’t wanna say relaxed—but just out of the ordinary, meaning my son can visit me on set,” Palmer explained. “He can come hang out in the trailer. That’s a blessing. There’ll come a time where he’ll be in school and he can’t fly and travel, and so I’m putting things in place that allow me to work more consistently from one position. That’s what I’ve also been trying to create for myself so I can actually have a bit more time to be in my everyday mom life.”
In the past, Palmer has been very open about how she schedules her life and career around doing what’s best for her son, who she shares with ex Darius Jackson.
“[I’m] definitely more selective with projects,” she told PEOPLE in 2024 about how she views her career as a mom. “Looking for stuff that allows me to be with him either at home, or it’s somewhere I can go and have a room or a trailer. I also want to respect his individuality and his freedom and space. It’s not just like you come to mommy’s world, only mommy’s world.”
“You have to always think about that, with kids,” she continued. “While we want to take them everywhere and we want them to be our world, they are their own little people, so you have to also give them their own sense of structure. Because as an adult, I’m kind of here, there and everywhere. I really try to keep that in mind.”
He may be a nepo baby, but with a mom like Keke Palmer, we know Leo will grow up well-rounded with a good head on his shoulders.
Before you go, check out Keke Palmer’s best quotes on motherhood.