Keke Palmer has grown up in the spotlight – but her mother, Sharon Palmer, has supported her daughter behind the scenes. Though the Nope actress has briefly mentioned her parents in past interviews, fans have welcomed Sharon with open arms after she defended Keke against ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson.

Keke Palmer’s Mom Pushed Her Into the Entertainment Business

The high school teacher recalled the first time she not only witnessed her daughter’s talent, but realized she could ​navigate rejection

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“Out of thousands and thousands of kids, she got down to, like, the last 20 kids. And then she was out,” Sharon told TODAY in a March 2021 interview. “And I felt, like, ‘Wow, if this kid is not upset by not getting a role, then maybe she can handle the entertainment industry.’”

“We’re from Chicago, which is blue-collar — we didn’t come from money. We lived in a very low-income area, but we also came from a Christian family,” she continued to the outlet. “The talk in our home was God and faith and ‘You can achieve’ and ‘Don’t allow yourself to be a product of your environment’ and ‘For damn sure don’t let yourself be a stereotype.’”

Sharon explained that she drove Keke to commercial auditions in Los Angeles after she learned that a friend was able to financially put her daughter through college from acting.

“I did it so she could go to college. I never expected any of this. I didn’t do it for money or fame. It was college. I wanted her to go to college,” she told the publication, adding, “I wanted my kids to go to college. And I wanted them to have a better life.”

Keke, for her part, shared her appreciation of her mother’s parenting style after she welcomed her son, Leodis, in February 2023.

“Oh my gosh! I really understand so much of why my mom was so on my neck. Y’all know how moms are. It’s like, ‘Girl, calm down.’ But now that I have my own 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥, I’m like, yeah, I’m ready to bust heads and throw blows,” the former Nickelodeon star said at a July event.

Keke Palmer’s Mom Defends Her Against Darius Jackson

Life & Style confirmed on November 9 that Keke filed a restraining order against ​ex Darius and was seeking full custody of their son. The multi-hyphenate alleged multiple instances of physical and emotional abuse.

Darius’ older brother, Sarunas Jackson, instantly responded to the filing via X – formerly known as Twitter – and seemingly accused Keke of being “the most disgusting, vile, abusive, manipulative person” he has ever met.

“Abuses almost everyone. Y’all will see … Just send positive energy to the babies,” Sarunas’ since-deleted tweet read. “Any 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 in the middle of something like this does not deserve it AT ALL. Wow. So damn sad.”

Sharon defended Keke shortly after seeing the Insecure actor’s online statement and slammed the whole family.

“I dare you [to] mess with my family. Family means everything to me! You and your family act like sociopaths … like the world can’t see it. You are phony!” she captioned the since-deleted post. “I saw you from day one. My daughter is kind and our family treated you with kindness, and this is how you treat it. I won’t take this laying down anymore. I’M DONE!”

In the video, Sharon alleged, “I went to Sarunas over a year ago and told him that his brother was abusive to my daughter, and he said, ‘Well, I used to be like that too. So, now he’s posting on Twitter like he’s this special guy when we know he’s the biggest f–kboy in Hollywood; he’s disrespectful to women just like his brother.”

Darius responded to the filing the following day, tweeting, “I love you, son. See you soon,” alongside a photo with Leodis.

Keke was granted temporary custody of Leodis later that day.