The 15 best Keke Palmer movies and TV shows, ranked
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Before even turning 30, Keke Palmer accrued a list of credits and professions that most people don't amass in an entire lifetime. In addition to being a musician, network executive, and former talk show host, she's one of the most versatile, accomplished young actors working today, having touched everything from gritty dramas and action films to lighthearted comedies and children's media. We would say that Palmer is at the height of her career if it were not so clear that she'll continue to soar for years to come.
In light of her recent successes (and headlines), EW has ranked 15 of Keke Palmer's best movies and TV shows to date. Did your favorite performances make the list? Read on to find out.
15. <i>Shrink</i> (2009)
In Shrink, Palmer gives a sly, naturalistic performance as Jemma, a young woman who is processing her mother's suicide with the help of Kevin Spacey's title character. Her presence is all the more remarkable considering the limitations of the script, which doesn't offer her much to work with. Jemma could have easily come off as just another slightly precious, stroppy adolescent, but in Palmer's hands, she becomes the emotional anchor of the otherwise forgetable film.
In what was something of a theme early in her career, Palmer reinvigorates the work whenever she is on screen, no matter the quality of the material. It's somewhat surprising then that her career has evolved at a slow-burn pace rather than rising to Jennifer Lawrence levels of young stardom.
Where to watch Shrink: Amazon Prime Video
14. <i>Joyful Noise</i> (2012)
Not only is Joyful Noise riddled with continuity errors, but it also manages to render mute the considerable individual charismas of Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah, actively bringing their joint chemistry down into nearly negative sums.
The only performer who seems at ease is Palmer, who portrays Olivia Hill. (We swear we aren't just saying that because this list is about her.) Tasked with performing a perfunctory teen romance C-story, Palmer puts all of her energy into nailing the film's many dancing (strutting) and singing (lip-synching) set pieces.
Joyful Noise comes briefly to life during one sequence in which Olivia is taught some dance moves by her prospective beau at a local nightclub. If, after that scene, you begin to fantasize about a Step Up sequel starring Palmer and void of other Joyful Noise cast members, you'd not only be forgiven but likely in a better place spiritually.
Where to watch Joyful Noise: Apple TV+ (to rent)
13. <i>Lightyear</i> (2022)
Palmer gives an energetic vocal performance in Lightyear as Lizzy Hawthorne, the comrade in arms of Buzz Lightyear (Chris Evans). The film itself is a mixed bag, neither good nor bad, and certainly not a patch on the franchise from which it spawned. But Palmer acts her part with confidence and charisma, as if this is her make-or-break audition for a future in blockbuster cinema. (Turns out, it would take only a few weeks for this to actualize with the advent of Nope.) But in the end, the idea of what a Palmer-led, live-action, monsters-in-space film might look like is more enticing than the animated movie unspooling in front of you.
Where to watch Lightyear: Disney+
12. <i>Brotherly Love</i> (2015)
Brotherly Love is a tonally jumbled coming-of-age movie that feels equally inspired by Stand by Me (1988) and O (2001). Palmer stars as Jackie, a young teen who also narrates the film. Every time the story, which concerns a murder mystery within a cloistered Philadelphia community, threatens to careen off of the rails, Palmer pops up (either vocally or in person) to right the train. As an actor, she has a knack for identifying what might be missing, either on the page or on the set, from a given scene and then counteracting it with an assured performance.
Where to watch Brotherly Love: Netflix
11. <i>Alice</i> (2022)
Alice wastes a solid idea — a 19th century enslaved woman escapes through the forest and arrives in 1973 before turning back to exact justice — and a blazing performance by Palmer on what essentially boils down to a rote, too self-aware revenge thriller. Palmer elevates the screenplay as much as she can, but in the aping of '70s blaxploitation films, director Krystin Ver Linden largely misses the point of what makes the genre so entertaining. Still, Palmer has a great deal of fun in the titular role when she is allowed to let loose in the third act, and there's little doubt that she would make a formidable action hero in a film devoted to its characters.
10. <i>The Longshots</i> (2008)
Much of this amiable, well-shot inspirational sports drama rests on Palmer's shoulders. The Longshots is based upon the true story of Jasmine Plummer, the first woman to play Pop Warner football, and directed by Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Her performance as Jasmine is tremendously advanced (she was just 14-years-old during filming), and most impressively, Palmer seems to have an understanding of her character's progression that outshines that of her more seasoned costars (sorry, Ice Cube).
Where to watch The Longshots: Tubi
9. <i>Scream: Resurrection</i> (2019)
Palmer's role as Kym in the third (and best) season of the Scream TV series is both a call back to her time on Scream Queens and a subversion of the well-honed Final Girl trope in slasher movies. She brings a welcome vim and vigor to her performance, infusing a show which historically struggled to maintain consistent energy with a reliable driving force.
Where to watch Scream: Resurrection: Netflix
8. <i>The Trip to Bountiful</i> (2014)
Palmer holds her own against Cicely Tyson in this Lifetime remake of the better-remembered 1985 feature of the same name. As Thelma, she shows up mid-way through this road trip picture to share a memorable beat with Tyson aboard a Greyhound bus. The Trip to Bountiful arrived at a transition point in Palmer's career, when she was moving from younger-skewing material to more adult roles. She's wonderfully natural here, sharing an easy chemistry with Tyson that goes down quite smoothly, much like the film itself.
Where to watch The Trip to Bountiful: Amazon Prime Video (with a premium subscription)
7. <i>True Jackson, VP</i> (2008–2011)
Palmer anchors this Nickelodeon series as the eponymous teenager who becomes the vice president of a fashion company after being spotted selling sandwiches in the Garment District by an eccentric CEO (Greg Proops). True Jackson, VP is a typically frenetic addition to the network's teen sitcom lineup, but one that is well-performed by the entire cast and relatively witty, with at least one genuinely funny joke per episode. With its left-of-center pop culture references and embrace of alternative comedians (Pamela Adlon shows up as an aged high school student; Paul F. Tompkins guest stars as an international superspy with something to prove), the series plays almost like a junior version of 30 Rock.
Where to watch True Jackson, VP: Paramount+
6. <i>Scream Queens</i> (2015–2016)
Palmer stars as Zayday Williams in Ryan Murphy's bubble gum slasher homage alongside an absolutely killer cast of genre veterans (Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Oliver Hudson) and comedy greats (Niecy Nash, Nasim Pedrad, John Stamos). Scream Queens is a wonderfully effervescent and surprisingly cine-literate horror series which is equally comfortable indulging post-Mean Girls nastiness and post-Saw gore gags.
As Zayday, Palmer is one off the only characters whom you root for to survive the killer. Everyone else is fairly expendable, but you get the sense that if Palmer were to disappear, the series may fall off its axis. After playing fourth or fifth fiddle to the other girls in season 1, Palmer is promoted to what is essentially the series lead for the second season, which transplants the action to a hospital and swaps the slasher fun for creature-feature antics. Watching Palmer and Curtis go toe-to-toe, both as sparring partners and a comedic duo, is something we didn't know we needed until we got it.
Where to watch Scream Queens: Hulu
5. <i>Pimp</i> (2018)
Palmer is utterly brilliant in this spirited yet downtrodden film — which recalls movies like Across 110th Street — as Wednesday, a young girl who's forced to take over her father's (DMX) illegal business to support her drug-addled mother (Aunjanue Ellis). Here, Palmer keeps a hesitant naivete even as her character graduates further and further into moral dubiousness. Its the performance where Palmer departs farthest from the roles audiences usually see her in, proving herself to be just as apt in dark drama as she is in light comedy.
4. <i>Imperial Dreams</i> (2014)
This searing, ravishingly well-mounted drama concerns recently-paroled aspiring writer Bambi (John Boyega), who returns home to find his life drastically altered for the worse. Malik Vitthal's debut feature is bleak and violent, but rewarding in its sheer artistry and in his command of the form. Imperial Dreams paints a predictably dour view of the American incarceration system. Bambi needs a job to rehabilitate himself, a task which cannot be accomplished without a government ID. Except, Bambi can't get an ID due to accrued child support payments he missed in prison, which he can't pay off without a job.
Palmer appears as Samaara, the mother of Bambi's child, who is now locked up herself. It's a sensitive, deeply nuanced performance that showcases Palmer in a much more mature, lower-key register than what she is usually allowed to play.
Where to watch Imperial Dreams: Not available to stream
3. <i>Akeelah and the Bee</i> (2006)
Palmer's breakout turn came in this unfussy and emotionally-gratifying film about the young title character, Akeelah, who prepares to compete in the Scripps National Spelling Bee with the help of her coach (Laurence Fishburne) and her strict mother (Angela Bassett). Doug Atchison's thoughtful social drama is the sort of movie that plays to the entire family (and, unfortunetly, is a rarity today).
This film stands out in her catalog nearly two decades later because it's one of the few times we see Palmer play a realistic child on screen. Her character is wonderfully unsure, lacking the motor-mouthed confidence Palmer has since trademarked, and the actress seemlessly disappears within her role.
Where to watch Akeelah and the Bee: Amazon Prime Video
2. <i>Hustlers</i> (2019)
As Mercedes, Palmer is second to only Jennifer Lopez as the MVP in Hustlers — Lorene Scafaria's visionary comic thriller based on a true story. This was the movie that showed Hollywood (and those unfamiliar with her recent television turns) that Palmer was ready to be taken seriously as a movie star. Much like everything else in Scafaria's mighty film, Palmer fits like a glove and is completely believable as being a part of this world — yet, brilliantly, she also comes across as herself.
Where to watch Hustlers: Philo
1. <i>Nope</i> (2022)
After a test run in Lightyear, Palmer proved her blockbuster bonafides in Jordan Peele's latest film, which concerns a mysterious alien invasion. Comprised of equal parts science-fiction, horror, and western, Nope is one of the purest summer box office smashes in recent memory.
As Emerald Haywood, Palmer is the perfect foil for her costar, Daniel Kaluuya — who plays her brother OJ and is making such miniscule acting choices (as in size, not level of contribution) that for much of the film, he appears almost like a statue. Emerald is a terrifically written character as well, a true live-wire catalyst for the ensuing adventure. She initially sets out not to obliterate the extraterrestrial but to capture it in a photograph, which she hopes to sell for a fortune. From there, her natural evolution from would-be entrepreneur to electric action hero is hugely satisfying, making for Palmer's greatest character arc yet.
Where to watch Nope: Amazon Prime Video
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