Keke Palmer (born Lauren Keyana Palmer on August 26, 1993) is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for playing the title role in the 2006 film, Akeelah and the Bee. Palmer made her acting debut in 2004's Barbershop 2: Back in Business, playing the part of the niece of Queen Latifah's character. Between 2004 and 2006, she appeared in episodes of several television series, including Cold Case, Strong Medicine, ER and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and was subsequently cast in two films released in 2006: playing a supporting part in Madea's Family Reunion, and starring as the lead character, Akeelah Anderson, a young girl from South Los Angeles who attempts to win a spelling bee, in Akeelah and the Bee.