Keke Palmer and her boyfriend Daris Jackson welcomed their first child together. The Nope star shared photos from the hospital on Instagram Monday, 48 hours after their son was born. They named him Leodis Andrellton Jackson.
“Born during Black History Month, with a name to match,” Palmer wrote. “LEODIS ANDRELLTON JACKSON, welcome to the world baby Leo.” She also provided captions for each slide of the gallery, including a video of the couple singing El DeBarge’s “Someone,” which Jackson, 29, included in playlists for her. “We became each other’s someone and made a someone, look at God,” Palmer wrote.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Palmer, 29, announced she was pregnant when she appeared on Saturday Night Live in December. “There’s some rumors going around, people have been in my comments saying, ‘Keke’s having a baby, Keke’s pregnant,’ and I wanna set the record straight,” Palmer said during her monologue. “I am!” She then revealed her baby bump to the audience.
“I mean, like, I was trying so hard to keep it on the down low, ’cause I got a lot of stuff going on, you know? People kept coming up to me [and saying,] ‘Congratulations,’” Palmer continued. “I’m like, ‘Sssh, can y’all stop? I got a liquor sponsorship on the line. Let the check clear and then we can get to the damn baby shower!’”
Palmer and Jackson started dating in the summer of 2021, notes Us Weekly. Palmer worked with Jackson’s brother, Sarunas Jackson, on the critically acclaimed HBO series Insecure. They kept their relationship out of the spotlight before Jackson confirmed they were dating in an August 2021 Instagram post.
“You’ve been a blessing from above,” Jackson wrote about Palmer in the since-deleted post. “Never would have expected summer 2021 to turn out the way it did, but here we are. I’m glad we were able to help each other throughout our lowest of times & show one another that what we are bringing to the table is everything that we got.”
During a stop on The Tamron Hall Show in November 2021, Palmer said it became increasingly difficult for her to keep their relationship away from Instagram. “It became more difficult to hide,” Palmer said. “We spend all this time together, and he really is my closest friend, so it just becomes a thing where I’m not gonna hide something that makes me happy.”
Palmer has been working in Hollywood since 2004, when she made her debut in Barbershop 2: Back in Business. She rose to prominence on Nickelodeon’s True Jackson, VP. Palmer won an Emmy in 2021 for Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series thanks to Turnt Up With the Taylors. Last year, the Hustlers starred in Jordan Peele’s Nope and voiced a character in Pixar’s Lightyear.
