Keke Palmer Stage Name Origin: 'Nope' Star's Sister Reveals REAL Reason Behind Nickname
You may think you know Keke Palmer.. nope! The actress-singer's nickname origin has finally been revealed by none other than her sister during a "Claim to Fame" winning speech.
Lauren Keyana Palmer debuted as an actress in 2004 in the film "Barbershop 2: Back in Business". She, later on, gained fame as a Nickelodeon star, leading her own sitcom "True Jackson VP". Her most recent role is in the Western sci-fi horror film "Nope" this year.
Keke's older sister, Loreal Chanel, recently won the ABC reality competition "Claim to Fame", taking home a $100,000 grand prize as a mystery contestant. During her winning speech, L.C. revealed the origin story behind veteran actress Lauren Keyana Palmer's nickname.
"My parents told me they were pregnant, and I said, 'Can we name the baby Keke?'" L.C. recalled. "And my mom said, 'That's not a real name.' And so they gave her the middle name Keyana so that we could call her Keke. And so she's been Keke her whole life."
Keke and L.C. are reportedly close to each other, as the "Claim to Fame" winner stated that "she is my biggest fan, just as much as I'm her biggest fan".
In a recent interview with Wired, Keke also revealed that L.C.'s fixation on the nickname stemmed from having an imaginary friend she named "Keke" before her parents gave birth to her younger sister.
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Which Name Does She Actually Prefer?
However, despite having "Keke" as her stage name, the actress-singer revealed in an interview with Glamour that she actually prefers being called "Lauren" over her stage name. According to the "Hands Free" singer, the origin of her stage name had been picked out by her manager.
"The only people that called me Keke were people in my family. Then one day, my manager at that time heard my mom call me Keke because I wasn't listening... He said, 'That should be your stage name.'" The actress-singer explained. "So Keke went from being just something that my family called me, to being something that the whole world called me."
Keke Palmer starred in the 2022 film "Nope", which was written, directed and co-produced by Jordan Peele. The film has grossed over $159 million worldwide and won the 2022 Hollywood Critics Association Midseason Awards for 'Most Anticipated Film'.
