When pop-star Brandy stepped into Cinderella’s glass slipper in 1997 for the made-for-TV movie, the world took notice; it was the first time a black woman had been cast for the role of Cinderella in the story’s history. Now, Brandy will have company in the record books as Keke Palmer steps into the glass slippers to become the first black woman to portray Cinderella on Broadway.
Palmer, who is perhaps best known for her role in Akeelah and the Bee, has perhaps the best pedigree to play the role of Cinderella as anyone ever has. Palmer is the daughter of two actors and has been in the acting business for almost her entire life. Besides starring in Akeelah and the Bee, Palmer has acted in a variety of roles, including parts in the Nickelodeon series True Jackson: VP, the Lifetime Emmy-nominated movie The Trip to Bountiful, and most recently as Coral on Showtime’s Masters of Sex.
The shoe fits! @KekePalmer becomes Broadway’s first African-American Cinderella on September 9th! RT to welcome her to the kingdom!
— Rodgers&Hammerstein (@RnH_Org) August 5, 2014
Besides acting, though, Palmer is also a successful singer, having released her first album, So Cool, in 2007 and two mixtapes in 2011 and 2012.
Perhaps most impressive is the fact that Palmer has accomplished all of this at the young age of 20. In fact, Palmer became the youngest talk-show host in television history when her show, Just Keke, debuted on BET earlier this year.
Palmer credits her want and ability to become Cinderella to the precedence set by Brandy when she portrayed Cinderella on TV in 1997: “I feel like the reason I’m able to do this is definitely because Brandy did it on TV. In me doing this, it shows everybody that everything is possible.”
“Theater offers so much more than I haven’t been able to access doing film and TV and everything like that. I’m very excited to learn all that it has to offer — that focus and that dedication to perform at a certain level every night,” stated Palmer.
I’m sooooo excited to be doing broadway for the first time, as Cinderella!! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!!
— Keke Palmer (@KekePalmer) August 4, 2014
Palmer steps into the slippers most recently filled by Paige Faure, who received the see-through shoes from none-other than pop-star Carly Rae Jepsen. Palmer’s stage debut comes on September 9, shortly after the actor turns 21.
Image via Twitter