It’s been three years since Keke Palmer’s mom and dad loaded up the family car and headed west to Hollywood so their daughter could break into acting.
Since then she’s done TV (Disney’s “Jump In”) and movies (starring with Laurence Fishburne in “Akeelah and the Bee”) and just returned home this weekend with a record contract.
The 13-year-old Palmer, who was born in south suburban Robbins, has recorded her first album, “So Uncool,” under the Atlantic label. She sang the national anthem at Saturday’s Chicago Sky game and later, as part of her partnership with the WNBA, performed “Footworkin,’
” the first single from the album.
Palmer appears to be a kid who hasn’t gotten caught up in the hype of being a celebrity. She’s also trying hard to avoid the pitfalls of some child stars who came before her, most notably Macaulay Culkin and Gary Coleman.
“I look at the positive stories — [people like] Jodie Foster and some other child actors that did excel,” Palmer told Armour & Co. when we sat down with her on Friday. “I have those people to remind me that it’s not impossible.”
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Terry Armour co-hosts “The Stan and Terry Show” at 11 a.m. weekdays on WCKG-FM 105.9.
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Personals was compiled by Alan Leo from Tribune news services and staff reports.