Mamas at Work with Keke Palmer | Motherhood, Career & Everything In Between

Name: Mamas at Work with Keke Palmer | Motherhood, Career & Everything In Between
Uploaded: 2026-10-09T21:02:51+00:00
Duration: 21 min 7 s
Channel: Essence Content

00:00Hello, everyone. I am Victoria Umarogi. I'm the Senior Director of Editorial for Essence Magazine,

00:05and you are watching Mamas at Work. Now, Mamas at Work, of course, is a series where we talk to

00:10all of the great moms out there, stars, authors, all the things living their lives and find out

00:16how they're balancing their career with motherhood and all the fabulous things that they do. And who

00:20is more fabulous, y'all, than Miss Kiki Palmer? Hey, Kiki girl. That is so sweet. Thank you so

00:26much, Victoria. It's so good to talk to you. Yes, I'm so glad to speak with you as a fellow.

00:31You know, you're from Robbins. I'm from Madison, Illinois. We're basically family. We're cousins.

00:36Midwest all day. Illinois. Come on. Midwest. But no, I just appreciate you, and I'm so excited to talk

00:44with you. So I'm going to hop right into it because I know you're busy. First and foremost, I know

00:48that

00:49in the early stages of being a parent to your adorable son, Leo, you decided to take action

00:54to protect him from RSV, and you did so with help from Bay Fortis. Am I pronouncing that right?

00:59Yes, Bay Fortis. Yes. Yes, the Bay Fortis. So what inspired you to make that decision for him?

01:03Well, you know, I didn't know a lot about RSV. You know, I'd heard about it, but obviously when

01:08you become a mother, you start thinking about things a lot deeper, and maybe I should ask more

01:13questions about it. And so I asked my doctor about respiratory syncytial virus, or like I said, RSV.

01:19And at first, it's like it started off as a cold, but then he was telling me that it could

01:23also lead to serious lung infections, and that it remains a leading cause of hospitalization

01:28in babies under one. So at that point, that's when he told me about Nursivimab ALIP, also

01:33known as Bay Fortis. And after talking to him and getting all that information, I decided

01:39that that was right for Leo, because it is a preventative protection that helps, you know,

01:44against, like I said, these lung infections that can be caused from RSV, something that you

01:48might not even be thinking about. And so that's why I decided to partner with Sanofi,

01:52just to bring more awareness around helpful ways to prevent.

01:57Okay. I love that. And, you know, can you speak to the importance of educating people about

02:02protection against RSV, especially as we go into back to school season, fall is coming, winter,

02:08people are going to be really close, and children are probably more susceptible to a lot of things.

02:12So why should we really take this seriously right now?

02:16Well, I don't want to fear monger, right? Like, I want to make sure I say that, look,

02:20you know, this is nothing for you to be now stressed about under the million other things

02:24that you have to stress about as a mother. But this is one of those things that just might

02:28be a helpful protection against what could become concerning, right? Like, RSV is something that is

02:34out there. And if there's information around the best way to help you prevent what it can,

02:39you know, become a dangerous leading cause of, and you want to get that out of your mind,

02:43then Bay Fortis might be something you want to look into. You can also just check out

02:47bayfortis.com, talk to your doctor, lean on your community. It's one of those things where,

02:52again, awareness is the best word because I really just want everybody to know that, look,

02:58you know what to do best for your child. Nobody has to tell you that, right? Every child,

03:03you know, the mother that's chosen for them is chosen for them for a reason. So trusting what's

03:08best for you is the main thing that I want to encourage. I love that. And you're doing this

03:12awareness work. You have Baby This Is Kiki. You have Kiki TV. You are hosting. You have film

03:18projects. You make music. You do it all. What is the key to balancing these endeavors with

03:22motherhood? And perhaps who is the key as well? That's a very good question because, as you know,

03:28we need a community. So I think one of the biggest keys in general is organization.

03:34Um, I'm very heavily organized. Like I'm so type A. Virgo. Oh my gosh. You would be like,

03:40Kiki, it's time to calm down. Like I schedule and put everything in compartments. It like makes me

03:47feel so safe. So that's number one. Number two is I have a huge community. My sisters and I live

03:52together. My sister is a mother of three. So I have a very much like veteran in the game outside

03:57of my

03:57parents that helped me with my son. I do have nannies that I'm very grateful for, especially when it

04:02comes to the very, you know, heavy workload that I have. Um, they're very helpful when it's,

04:07when it's needed. And then my mom, of course, my mom is incredible. Um, and she's always helpful

04:12for there for me with my son. Um, and yeah, I think that, that, those are the things that helped

04:17me in terms of being, in terms of motherhood is leaning on my community, not being afraid of having

04:22support, um, knowing when and where I need to be and that making sure that my ability to be a

04:28mother

04:28is my first priority because generally, genuinely, I will, I will not feel well, you know, it will

04:34affect me. You know, there've been many times where I had something going on and I felt that

04:38what was best for me at that time was cancel it and just be with my son.

04:43That's so true. I love that. And, you know, is there a rule, like, just like you just said,

04:48you just canceled something when you felt like you needed to be present with your son. Is there a rule

04:51that you have put in place or something that you just say no to now that you have your son

04:56and you

04:56want to be around him when it comes to like your professional endeavors and things that you, you

05:00know, that come to you? Yeah. I usually always want us to be together. Meaning if I, and this has

05:05been the something that, you know, you got to think more about when it comes to the whole school of

05:09it, especially if I don't plan on homeschooling him when he starts to get real serious, because

05:13you can't keep taking a minute out of school like that because of my traveling schedule. If I'm

05:18going to be gone for more than two days, I generally don't want to, I usually would always bring

05:22Leo with me because it's just too long in my mind. But then at the same time, it's something

05:29that you have to think about because you don't want your baby to just be constantly uprooted

05:32everywhere and every time. So things like that, you know, you, you know, the time we spend together,

05:37my mom has always told me it's always about intentional time together. And she always reminds

05:42me that when I was a kid, she was like, how much time did you spend with your grandmother?

05:46And I was like, oh, I did actually spend a lot of time with my grandmother. She said, but did

05:50you

05:50feel like I wasn't around? I might've been working. You knew I was at work, but you knew the time

05:54that

05:54we spent together that we were together. And I'm like, yeah, I never felt like my mom wasn't around.

05:58And so she makes sure that I don't guilt myself for my ambition. And I think that having that kind

06:04of support is really important because she's like all parents work and all parents have to work,

06:10especially in this economy. And you should understand it as a blessing that you have the

06:15support that you have and I feel ashamed about it. Yeah, for sure. And even like with the

06:19nannies, I've talked to people before and I think they might've felt weird about having nannies,

06:24but I'm like, if you can afford a child, I wish I had one or two, three. Cause I feel,

06:29I feel guilt sometimes, but I'm like, dang, I really wish, you know, we could just go out and do,

06:34you know, when we want to do it. So kudos to you. How are you able to be like, oh

06:38no,

06:38this is what I need. And this is what works for me, boo.

06:41Yes, it definitely does help. It's definitely something that I really, um, you know, like I said,

06:45it, you can feel like, cause everybody's momming looks different. You know what I'm saying? And

06:50so you can think sometimes, or even when he's been on set with me, you know what I mean? I

06:54remember when I was doing a movie and like, I don't know who was this that was on it. I

06:59forget.

06:59Oh, it was Taylor, Taylor page. When I was doing the, I love boosters. She was while we were filming

07:05the movie. And she was like, I never thought about how much I could have my baby on set. Cause

07:10Leo would

07:10be there every single day. Like he would be there. I would always have him on, you know,

07:14he would be with me on a trailer running around, whatever. And she was like, I didn't think about

07:18the fact that like he could, you know, my baby could just be with me up on there. And so

07:22that

07:23made me happy too, because it's also like we redefine what it means to be mothers in the workplace.

07:28And I remember I went to a marketing, um, company not too long ago and I walked up in there

07:33and her

07:34baby was running around in, in, you know, in there. And it was just like, cool. It was like nobody

07:38in the

07:38office cared. And it's like, we're moving into a time where people are allowing people to be

07:42mothers out loud, especially in the workplace. And it's not like this weird thing. Like, it's

07:47like, yeah, I'm a mama. Yeah. Yes. Baby is with me. I was just at Pilates this morning in the

07:54instruct, my instructor, shout out to breed, breed LaDash. Her baby girl was right there. I said,

07:59good to see you queen. Cause she usually wears a queen costume. So I was like, Hey queen to the

08:03baby.

08:05And she wasn't in her usual garb. So I was like, good to see you again, queen. And you know,

08:10we're used, she's in the workplace. And so it's a beautiful thing that we're at that time now.

08:15Yes. I love the flexibility that we have. That's so true. And in addition to being a mom

08:20when, where we, where you are in your career, you've worked so hard and now you're doing so

08:24many amazing things. How do you decide what opportunities and things and people get your

08:29attention and your energy? Ooh.

08:37Um, I know it sometimes sounds cliche, but anybody that does it knows that it's,

08:41that it's true. Whether they call it this or whether they call it meditation. I mean,

08:45I'd be praying on stuff heavy, you know, I pray on, on what it feels like, what's comfortable to me.

08:51If I feel off, if it, if something about it, I'm questioning. And then I interrogate the question

08:56is the question because I'm afraid of the challenge is because it doesn't feel right. Like I go on a

09:01whole

09:01interrogation system to ensure where the core of that, you know, uh, disconnect is coming from.

09:08Um, and then that lets me know if it ultimately is an alignment with me or if it's a misalignment

09:13that ultimately is, is, is, is, is fueling that. And that's when I say no. And I think motherhood in

09:18general has made clarity, um, has made me more clear, like made me have more clarity around things

09:24because there's something so sobering about realizing that you are responsible for a child.

09:29Everything that you ever thought was serious, half of that falls away and you actually what's really

09:36serious. And, um, funnily enough with me having so much responsibility on my life, this actually,

09:44which is the greatest responsibility you can have helped me to realize what I was no longer

09:49responsible for. So it just made me, um, just drop all that baggage off girl. I was literally like

09:56Erykah Badu, like ain't no more bad lady. Why did that song hit me so cold? And when I got

10:06in my

10:06thirties, I said, she was talking about everything. Had no idea back in the day, you just singing it,

10:13but it really, come on. Why was that? Her music continues to give and give and give because why was

10:20I like, yeah. True. Oh my gosh. Yes. Girl puts everything into perspective for sure.

10:31And as you mentioned, you have become a serious love of all things Pilates. You have your practice

10:36by Palmer. You, you know, what do you love about that form of self-care most? And are there other

10:40ways that you really adore, like just pouring back into yourself as a working mom?

10:44Outside of my community, I'll come to my community last, um, outside of my community

10:48being, spending time alone, I realized how much I really loved being alone. I think because when

10:55I was younger, again, this goes back into the responsibility that I carried so early. Um,

11:00you know, and just like being an entertainer and always being around people. And then my mom being

11:06always so scared and my dad and being so spooked about somebody going to kidnap me. And, you know,

11:10it's just like, it was so serious for me as a kid, you know, in that field that I always

11:16had to

11:16accept the fact that I, I couldn't really be alone, that I couldn't really like be in to have as

11:21much

11:21independence as I wanted. But the great thing about adulthood is once you recognize that that

11:27habit was created out of, uh, you know, you just being a child, you open up your eyes and you

11:32realize

11:33I'm grown now. So if I want to be alone, I can actually be alone. No one can stop me.

11:39Like that

11:39is my right. And I have full autonomy. So spending a lot of time alone, um, doing activities by myself,

11:47but I love going to gardens and walking around, looking at trees, journaling, um, losing myself

11:54in time, bike riding down Venice beach, like just being in my own world. These things, they make me so

12:00happy to, to be in the world, right? Cause I'm such an explorative and curious, curious person.

12:06And sometimes fame created a way where being alone was suddenly something I couldn't do.

12:13You know what I mean? So finding ways to give that back to myself has been a huge way. That's

12:17just like been a form of self-care. And then when it comes to my, to, to practice by Palmer,

12:23you know, wellness is active. It should be fun. It should be community driven. It should be something

12:28that you can do with people. That's not outcome based, but a practice meaning something that you want

12:33to keep coming back to and back to and back to, and that the evolution of growth around it comes

12:38just from you wanting to be able to do it. Like we've gotten into such a place with wellness and

12:43fitness. That's based off of you being the best. And it's like, I don't want to come back. If you

12:47got me throwing up in the class, why would I come back there? Like, you know, a class that I'm

12:53limping

12:53out of, you know what I mean? Like ease me into it. You know what I mean? So I'm not,

12:58I'm not an instructor that's into breaking you down. It's like, no, I'm building you up and you're

13:04going to want to keep coming back. And it's not about quick results. It's about you being in an

13:09environment that you enjoy. So that is the basis of how we look at wellness. But then inside of that,

13:14we're just a community. We're really a community. So a lot of times we'll, you know, we do live

13:18sessions where we just talk and, you know, there's always usually a theme. Sometimes we'll all pick

13:23it as a group or I'll introduce an idea or a topic that I'd want to share with them. We

13:27do live

13:28series. And we're all like literally just in a, in a, in a digital room talking, sharing and being

13:34heard. And then also it's IRL. Like I host a lot of different events and do conversations and do

13:41Pilates classes. Like I just did one at Salt and Shed in Chicago and I'm getting ready to do a

13:45class

13:45at beauty con and, and we also have walk and talk. So when people are doing maybe more of their

13:51lower impact day, they might be going on a hike and they want to just hear an essay that I

13:56wrote

13:56on, on something. I do a lot of essay, um, writings, um, similar, not around the same topic of my

14:02Ted

14:02talk, but if somebody liked my Ted talk, they might would want to listen to these walk and talks where

14:07I'm just pretty much doing sometimes pop culture analysis or, um, you know, generational analysis,

14:13just different things that are on my mind. So that lives on the, on the, on the app as well.

14:18I love that. You're doing it all girl. Come on. Wear so many hats, walking talks, Pilates,

14:24everything. I love it. And lastly, I wanted to ask you, what has Leo taught you most about yourself?

14:32I think motherhood changes everybody. What is motherhood and your, the gift that you were given

14:37your particular son? What has he taught you most about yourself? Well, he's taught me that I,

14:43that while I've always had people around me and I haven't always been able to be maybe as independent

14:49as I wanted to physically, that I also have emotionally actually put myself in a position

15:01to always do things alone. Um, which is so interesting because it's like the outward

15:06experience is not reflective of the inward experience. And I say that because children

15:10have a way of reflecting those things back to you. Like I remember, um, I'll make this story quick.

15:17My son, like most kids, he goes through the phase, he's going through the phase of like,

15:21he doesn't want to go to sleep. You know, he's fighting his sleep and everything.

15:23Yeah. And he would be like, you know, I'm going to fight the moon. I'm going to take it down.

15:28I'm

15:29going to cut it in half. And then it's going to be the sun. And then that's going to be

15:32it. And

15:33then mommy, you're going to do it with me. Right. And when he was saying that, I kept trying to

15:37think

15:37about like, what, what does he mean by that? Like, what is this that he's saying? Cause your kids are

15:41talking sometimes in symbols. Yeah. And then as the day started going by, I started thinking about,

15:46I was like, wait a minute, you know, and I started thinking about my own childhood. And when I was

15:50like a kid, a lot of times I would be the only person up in the house.

15:54You know what I mean? Like my parents would have to go to sleep. I think we'd be sleeping in

15:58their

15:58bed. I'd go sleep in my room. I'd crawl into my sister's bed. She'd go to sleep and I would

16:03just

16:03be up watching. I love Lucy. You know what I'm saying? Learning how to do this, you know,

16:08everybody in the house is asleep. And I learned, I didn't have a co-regulator. I didn't have,

16:14I was afraid and I wanted to, I was fighting my sleep and I didn't have anybody to help me

16:19figure

16:20out how to do that. Um, and when I'm thinking about my son, he's saying he's going to fight

16:26the moon. He's going to pull it down. He's going to cut it half. And he's saying, you're

16:30going to do it with me. And it really like made me just think about like his experience

16:36with co-regulation and my experience with regulation. Mine has always been solo and it's

16:42this around me figuring out on my own, but he understands it collaboratively. And that

16:50really just touched me. Cause I was like, wow, he has a mirror. He has an expression of

16:57how to deal with something outside of himself. And that was like really, really cool. And

17:03that I even had the capacity to be there for him in that way, because to respect for my,

17:09in respect to my parents, we were in immense poverty. My daddy had to get to work at 4 AM.

17:16So he had to go to sleep. My mom worked multiple jobs. You know, they didn't really have the ability.

17:24They was, they were still trying to figure out how to regulate themselves. Um, so it was a totally

17:30different scenario. So when we look at now my life and all the sacrifices my family made for us to

17:35build

17:36what we have to be able to have the resources, the space, the capacity to where my son is able

17:42to

17:42say, we're going to fight the moon. We're going to do it together. You promise? And I'm like, yeah,

17:47come here. You know, it's just a really, life is so interesting that way, you know? So poetic.

17:54I love that. I love that so much. All right. I'm going to wrap up with you real quick,

17:59but I wanted to do a real quick fire thing with you. Just some quick answers. Because I know you

18:04like to do that. So I'm going to throw it right back at you. I love this. So Leo's first

18:10word.

18:12Mama. Of course. Love it. One word to describe motherhood so far.

18:20Excellent. Oh, okay. A show or thing you watch religiously after you put your son to bed. So

18:26like, I'm the type I'd be scrolling. I'm like, I'm tired as hell, but I just need time to myself.

18:30What are you looking at? Time to myself? Like, okay, usually I put on girlfriends and he probably

18:34thinks girlfriends is the damn golden girls. Like that's probably what that is for him. They

18:39probably look so ancient to him because maybe, you know, um, but I do always watch girlfriends.

18:44And then if it's not actually girlfriends, I've literally been trying to finish for the last

18:49damn three days. Why did I get married? The new one, the new one, the new one. I'm literally,

18:56I keep making it to the one part and I'm like, I gotta get, but I get so sleepy.

19:01I literally, I've been, I've been watched it at the same point. Three dang old times.

19:06Oh yeah. Why did I get married? Got you. And lastly, the children's song,

19:10you find yourself singing more than Leo. You know, you watch all of these shows,

19:13Miss Rachel, all these things. What are you singing? What are you singing like more than him

19:17that you love? Well, you know what is so funny? So first of all, it was definitely

19:23everything from the K-pop demon hunters. That thing tore up the house, like down. But you know,

19:35it's so funny. Recently, I let him sometimes go on YouTube. So go ahead. Tell me. I let him

19:43sometimes go on YouTube. And it's so funny. They rip so many different sounds. I hear him

19:49walking through the house. I'm with some rama, rama, ma, allah, ooh la la. When did you find out

19:55about Lady Gaga? When did you get learn about V? I didn't know you was a little monster.

20:02Little mother monster. Come on, Ray. So now he's on to that. I love that. Meanwhile,

20:09my son is out here watching all Michael Jackson stuff after the movie. Isn't it so crazy how

20:13they all have a Michael Jackson era? That is the most interesting thing to me about like

20:20pop culture and kiddom. I remember when I had my Michael Jackson thing. I remember when my brother

20:26had Michael Jackson. I remember when my little sister, like all of my women is around the same

20:32age. They all had this Michael Jackson thing. Listen. That's incredible. Iconic. It's almost

20:38like a rite of passage. Like by the time you like eight or nine. And by the time it's almost

20:42like a

20:43collective generational curse. By the time you Michael's age. You got to be obsessed with Michael. Yes.

20:51So real. And that's, if that's not iconic, I don't know what is, but I know who is iconic.

20:56You miss Kiki. I thank you so much for making the time to chat with me about all the great

21:01things you have going on. And I appreciate your time queen. Thank you so much. Right back at you.

21:05Appreciate you.

Mamas at Work with Keke Palmer | Motherhood, Career & Everything In Between

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