Keke Palmer Reflects on Filing for Bankruptcy at 18: ‘I Was So Spooked’

Keke Palmer is recalling a time of real financial stress.

During an appearance at the Building Wealth Today for Tomorrow financial literacy event in Chicago on Oct. 12, Palmer, 31, revealed that she declared bankruptcy at 18, per Afrotech.

“I was so spooked,” she said. “I was like, ‘What went wrong?’ ”

Palmer, who began her Hollywood career at age 9, said she and her parents hired a business manager in her teenage years. Although “that has helped me immensely,” she said, filing for bankruptcy later became essential.

Now, the Nope star invests and spends “way under” what she can afford. “I wanna invest in my business. So if I wanna invest in my business, then the material things that I’m having currently might have to take a short [break]. Instead of wearing Gucci, I’m wearing Zara. I live in a good place. I drive a cool car ’cause my money is going elsewhere.”

Palmer went on to specify: “I got a Toyota right now in my driveway.”

Speaking to PEOPLE this March, the Emmy-winning Password host said finances are something she talks about frequently with her parents, Sharon and Lawrence “Larry” Palmer. Early in her career, they hired the business manager because they “needed to get some financial literacy as a family… we grew together in our understanding of money.”

In February 2023, Palmer welcomed son Leodis “Leo” Andrellton, who she shares with her ex-boyfriend, Darius Jackson. Motherhood has also changed how she thinks about money, she told PEOPLE.

“Overall it’s just made me think about how to really make smart choices on where I’m putting my money,” she said. “In terms of investments or property and just the kind of home I want to have, or what’s best for my son and what should I be spending things on… I’m the kind of person that has never wanted to be afraid of money and let money control me, or make me feel worried all the time.”

In addition to her acting and hosting projects, Palmer launched YouTube streaming network KeyTv in 2022, reportedly investing $500,000 of her own money. She is also acting in and producing a yet-to-be-titled film from director Lawrence Lamont costarring singer SZA.