The Emmy Award-winning actress is a mom to her now 3-year-old son, Leodis “Leo” Andrellton Jackson
Credit: Keke Palmer /Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Keke Palmer recalls the “horrified” feeling she had the first time her son was sick as a baby in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE
- “It’s a feeling that can come back to you so quickly,” the Emmy Award-winning actress says
- Palmer is a mom to her now 3-year-old son, Leodis “Leo” Andrellton Jackson
Keke Palmer can clearly recall being a new mom and watching her son get sick for the first time when he was a baby.
“I was horrified,” the actress, 33, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview. “It’s a feeling that can come back to you so quickly.”
“This is the first time that you’ve ever loved somebody like this, and they’re so helpless in this situation,” she continues.
Palmer — who has partnered with Sanofi to promote Beyfortus ahead of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) season —welcomed her only child, Leodis “Leo” Andrellton Jackson, with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson in February 2023.
Credit: Keke Palmer/Instagram
According to Palmer, learning how to help her son through illness for the first time was an eye-opening experience.
“Every millennial now that’s a parent is like, ‘I’m the new adult? What do you mean I’m the one who has to make these extreme decisions about somebody’s life — somebody that I love so much?’ “ she says.
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Still, the Emmy Award winner says she can always count on her own parents — mom Sharon Palmer and dad Lawrence “Larry” Palmer — to help guide her in raising her child, after they raised her.
“My parents are a huge support to me, and they are always helping me stay informed,” Palmer says. “They tell me what they did, but they also empower me [to figure it out on my own].”
Credit: Keke Palmer Podcast/Instagram
When Leo was young, Palmer learned through a visit to the pediatrician about Beyfortus, which, according to its website, is “a preventive antibody that protects babies born during or entering their first RSV season against serious RSV lung infection.”
“Obviously, like any mother, you’re scared and you want to figure out the best way to help your baby, and I realized that it was the best thing for me and for Leo, to help protect him against the serious lung infections that can be caused by RSV,” Palmer tells PEOPLE of her decision to utilize Beyfortus as a tool to protect her then-newborn baby son’s health.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that infects the nose, throat, respiratory tract and lungs, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
According to Beyfortus, two out of three babies will get RSV by the time they turn one year old, and since March 2026, the company has already helped over 11 million babies.
Read the full article here
